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THE CRANE CLASSICS 



LOE-QFELLOWS 

HIAWATHA 



BIOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE AND NOTES 



BY 



MAEGAEET HILL McCAETEE, 

Former Teacher of English and American Literature, 
Topeka High School. 



TOPEKA, KANSAS 
1905 



X 



LjBRARY of 00N3H£SS; 
(wo Copies rtecavea 

FEB 13 i^OS 
^^. to, f^0S~ 

COPY B. 



Copyright 1904, 

By Crane & Company, 

Topeka, Kansas 



CONTENTS. 



PAOX. 

Guide to Study of Longfellow 5 

Introduction to Hiawatha 9 

Hiawatha — Introduction 11 

The Peace-Pipe 15 

The Four Winds 21 

Hiawatha's Childhood 31 

Hiawatha and Mudjekeewis 89 

Hiawatha's Fasting 49 

Hiawatha's Friends 59 

Hiawatha's Sailing 65 

Hiawatha's Fishing 70 

Hiawatha and the Pearl-Feather 78 

Hiawatha's Wooing 88 

Hiawatha's Wedding Feast 98 

The Son of the Evening Star 106 

Blessing the Corn-Fields 119 

Picture-Writing 127 

Hiawatha's Lamentation -. . . 133 

Pau-Puk-Keewis 140 

The Hunting of Pau-Puk-Keewis 149 

The Death of Kwasind 161 



4 CONTENTS 

FAGS. 

The Ghosts 165 

The Famine 178 

The White-Man's Foot 179 

Hiawatha's Departure 187 

Notes 195 

Vocabulary 202 



A GUIDE TO THE STUDY OF HEE^EY 
WADSWOETH LOlsTGEELLOW. 



IMPORTANT FACTS IN LONGFELLOW S LIFE. 

Descent from John Alden. 
Boyhood in Portland, Maine, 1807-1821. 
Education at Bowdoin College, 1821-1825. 
Election to chair of modern languages of Bowdoin Col- 
lege, 1825. 

Residence abroad, 1826-1829. 

Professorship in Bowdoin College, 1829-1835. 

First book published, 1833. 

Election to chair in Harvard College, 1835. 

Second residence abroad, 1835-1836. 

Professorship in Harvard College, 1836-1854. 

Retirement to private life, 1854—1882. 

CHEONOLOGY. 

Birth, February 27, 1807. 
Graduation from College, 1825. 
Marriage to Miss Mary Potter, 1831. 
Death of Mrs. Longfellow, 1835. 
Marriage to Miss Frances Appleton, 1843. 
Death of Mrs. Longfellow, 1861. 
Death, March 24, 1882. 

CONTRIBUTIONS TO HIS OWN BIOGRAPHY. 

The Children's Hour. 

The Courtship of Miles Standish. 



b THE CRANE CLASSICS 

To the Kiver Charles. 
The Two Angels. 
Three Friends of Mine. 
Monturi Salutamus. 
From Mj Arm-Chair. 

BIOGRAPHICAL WRITINGS. 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. By E. II. Stoddard, 
Scribner's Magazine, September, 1878. 

Glimpses of Longfellow in Social Life. By Annie 
Fields. Century Magazine, April, 1886. 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; a biographical sketch. 
By Francis H. Underwood, 1882. 

Final Memorials of Longfellow. Edited by Samuel 
Longfellow, 1888. 

The White Mr. Longfellow. From My Literary Friends 
and Acquaintances, W. D. Howells. 

CONTEMPORARY POETS. 



Tennyson. 




Lowell. 


The Brownings. 




Bryant. 


Hood. 




Poe. 


Wordsworth. 




Holmes. 


Moore. 




Emerson. 


Coleridge. 




Whittier. 


\GES INTO WHICH 


Longfellow's poems aki- 


TRANSLATED. 




French. 




German. 


Portuguese. 




Dutch. 


Italian. 




Swedish. 


Spanish. 




Danish. 


Polish. 




Russian. 



GUIDE TO STUDY OF LONGFELLOW 7 

MAGAZINE REFERENCE. 

ISTorth American Review: October, 1834; January, 
1840; July, 1842; January, 1848; July, 1849; January, 
1856; April, 1867; July, 1867; April, 1881. 

Atlantic Monthly: December, 1863; May, 1886. 

Macmillan's: May, 1886. 

Harper's: June, 1882. 

British Quarterly Review: January, 1864; July aud 
October, 1882. 

OUTLINE OF SELECTED WORKS. 

Outre-Mer. 

Hyperion. 

Poets and Poetry of Europe. 

POETRY. 

Early Poems — Sunrise on the Hills, Hymn of the 
Moravian Nuns. 

New England Life — Paul Revere's Ride, Courtship 
of Miles Standish, Elizabeth, The Phantom Ship. 

Foreign Life — l^uremberg, Amalfi, Belfry at Bruges. 

Sea Poems — The Building of the Ship, The Bells of 
Lynn, The Fire of Driftwood, Sir Humphrey Gilbert. 

Nature Poems — Autumn, Elowers, Flower de Luce, 
Birds of Killingworth, Rain in Summer, Hymn to the 
ISTight. 

Personal — Fiftieth Birthday of Agassiz, The Herons 
of Elmwood, The Three Silences of Molinos, Bayard Tay- 
lor, Hawthorne. 

Human Slavery — The Slave's Dream, The Warning, 
The Slave Singing at Midnight. 



g THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Life and Death — The Keaper and the Flowers, Eesig- 
nation, The Builders, The Ladder of Saint Augustine, The 
Goblet of Life. 

Translations — Dante's Divina Commedia, Children of 
the Lord's Supper, The Song of the Silent Land. 



IJS'TEODUOTIOlsr TO HIAWATHA. 



Longfellow was a student of languages. His residence 
abroad and his research at home made him familiar not 
only with several different tongues, but with the folk- 
lore as well as the classic of these tongues. His earliest 
and perhaps his best legendary writing is from European 
sources. HiaivatJia seems to have been a kind of obliga- 
tion laid by the poet upon himself because of his own 
Americanism. It is rhythmical and pleasant, but essen- 
tially juvenile compared to the scope and fineness of his best 
creations. 

It has, however, entered into the classic juvenile litera- 
ture, and made a permanent place for itself; and it is a 
part of one's literary education to study it. 

It was first published in 1855. In 1849 an Indian 
chief of the Ojibwa tribe lectured in Boston. The next 
year the chief visited the city again, and was a guest in 
Longfellow's home. From him the poet gathered some- 
thing of the material and the inspiration that led to the 
creation of Hiaiuatha. From Schoolcraft's Algic Re- 
searches the main body of the legend was derived. This 
book of Schoolcraft's embraces the legends of most of the 
IlsTorth-xlmerican Indian tribes east of the Mississippi. 

The scene of Hiawatha lies in the region about Lake 
Superior — "the shining Big-Sea-Water" of the story. 
The Ojibwa Indians, now known as the Chippewas, are 
the tribe represented; although the poet makes use of 

(9) 



10 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

nearly all of the more important tribes in the eastern and 
northern portions of the United States. 

As to literary qualities, the first merit of the poem lies 
in the smooth metre that is peculiarly adapted to the sub- 
ject-matter. There are very few breaks in the regularity 
of the measure, and it ripples off the tongue like the legend- 
ary chants of the primitive peoples. 

The coloring in the poem is vivid and natural. It is 
a nature story with nature's own mixing of tints and hues. 

The legend itself is a typical one, such as all nations 
weave for themselves in the days that lie between their 
savage wildness and their recorded civilization. The story 
is of the hero, who is heaven-horn, and who out of his own 
strength conquers not alone his own enemies, but also the 
common enemies of his people. So he becomes a public 
benefactor. His wisdom is richer than the wisdom of the 
tribe; his strength is more than its strength; and his 
sympathy and unselfish doing lift it to a higher plane. 
There is also the essentially tragic side, as there is to all 
legend. For the hero passes away, to become a god, a 
saint, or a reincarnation of general usefulness ; but the loss 
of him is always tragical. 

In the case of Hiawatha the tragedy^ is doubly pathetic. 
Coupled with the invasion of the white man is the knowing 
that he ought to come. And in that ought lies the impossi- 
bility of recovery from the tragic blow. The reader's sym- 
pathy is always with such a defeated hero, not because of 
defeat, which is temporary, but because his defeat is just, 
which is eternal. 



HIAWATHA, 



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IlSrTKODUCTIOlSr. 

Should jou ask me, whence these stories ? 
Whence these legends and traditions, 
With the odors of the forest, 
With the dew and damp of meadows. 
With the curling smoke of wigwams. 
With the rushing of great rivers, ^ 
With their frequent repetitions, 
And their wild reverberations, 
As of thunder in the mountains ? 

I should answer, I should tell you, 
" From the forests and the prairies. 
From the great lakes of the ISTorthland, 
From the land of the Ojibways, 
From the land of the Dacotahs, 
From the mountains, moors, and fen-lands. 
Where the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
Feeds among the reeds and rushes, 
I repeat them as I heard them 
From the lips of I^awadaha, 
The musician, the sweet singer." 

Should you ask where ITawadaha 
Found these songs, so wild and wayward. 
Found these legends and traditions, 
I should answer, I should tell you, 
" In the bird's-nests of the forest, ^^ 

(11) 



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12 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

In the lodges of the beaver, 
In the hoof -prints of the bison, 
In the eyry of the eagle ! 

"All the wild-fowl sang them to him, 
In the moorlands and the fen-lands. 
In the melancholy marshes ; 
Chetowaik, the plover, sang them, 
Mahng, the loon, the wild-goose, Wawa, 
The blue heron, the Shuh-shnh-gah, 
And the grouse, the Mushkodasa ! " 
If still further you should ask me. 
Saying, " Who was ISTawadaha ? 
Tell us of this ISTawadaha," 
- I should answer your inquiries 
Straightway in such words as follow. 

" In the Vale of Tawasentha, 
In the green and silent valley, 
By the pleasant water-courses, 
Dwelt the singer :N'awadaha. 
Bound about the Indian village 
Spread the meadows and the corn-fields. 
And beyond them stood the forests. 
Stood the groves of singing pine-trees, 
Green in Summer, white in Winter, 
Ever sighing, ever singing. 

"And the pleasant water-courses, 
* You could trace them through the valley. 
By the rushing in the Spring-time, 
By the alders in the Summer, 
By the white fog in the Autumn, 
By the black line in the Winter ; 



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And beside them dwelt the singer, 
In the Yale of Tawasentha, 
In the green and silent valley. 

" There he sang of Hiawatha, 
Sang the Song of Hiawatha, 
Sang his wondrous birth and being, 
How he prayed and how he fasted, 
How he lived, and toiled, and suffered, 
That the tribes of men might prosper. 
That he might advance his people ! '' 

Ye who love the haunts of Nature, 
Love the sunshine of the meadow. 
Love the shadow of the forest. 
Love the wind among the branches, "^^ 

And the rain-shower and the snow-storm. 
And the rushing of great rivers 
Through their palisades of pine-trees. 
And the thunder in the mountains. 
Whose innumerable echoes '^'^ 

Flap like eagles in their eyries ; — 
Listen to these wild traditions. 
To this Song of Hiawatha ! 

Ye who love a nation's legends, 
Love the ballads of a people, ®^ 

That like voices from afar off 
Call to us to pause and listen. 
Speak in tones so plain and childlike. 
Scarcely can the ear distinguish 
Whether they are sung or spoken ; — ^^ 

Listen to this Indian Legend, , 
To this Song of Hiawatha ! 



14 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Ye whose hearts are fresh and simple, 
Who have faith in God and ISTature, 
Who believe, that in all ages 
Every human heart is human. 
That in even savage bosoms 
There are longings, yearnings, strivings 
Tor the good they comprehend not. 
That the feeble hands and helpless. 
Groping blindly in the darkness, 
Touch God's right hand in that darkness 
And are lifted up and strengthened ; — 
Listen to this simple story, 
To this Song of Hiawatha ! 

Ye, who sometimes, in your rambles 
Through the green lanes of the coimtry, 
Wliere the tangled barberry-bushes 
Hang their tufts of crimson berries 
Over stone walls gray with mosses, 
Pause by some neglected graveyard, 
For a while to muse, and ponder 
On a half-effaced inscription, 
Written with little skill of song-craft, 
Homely phrases, but each letter 
Full of hope and yet of heart-break, 
Full of all the tender pathos 
Of the Here and the Hereafter ; — 
Stay and read this rude inscription, 
Eead this Song of Hiawatha ! 



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THE PEACE-PIPE 15 



THE PEACE-PIPE. 
I. 

On the Mountains of the Prairie, 
On the great Eed Pipe-stone Quarry, 
Gitche Manito, the mighty, 
He the Master of Life, descending, 
On the red crags of the quarry 
Stood erect, and called the nations, 
Called the tribes of men together. 

Erom his footprints flowed a river. 
Leaped into the light of morning. 
O'er the precipice plunging downward 
Gleamed like Ishkoodah, the comet. 
And the Spirit, stooping earthward. 
With his finger on the meadow 
Traced a winding pathway for it. 
Saying to it, " Run in this way ! '' ^' 

Erom the red stone of the quarry 
With his hand he broke a fragment, 
Moulded it into a pipe-head. 
Shaped and fashioned it with figures ; 
Erom the margin of the river 20 

Took a long reed for a pipe-stem. 
With its dark green leaves upon it ; 
Eilled the pipe with bark of willow. 
With the bark of the red willow ; 
Breathed upon the neighboring forest, ^5 

Made its great boughs chafe together, 
Till in flame they burst and kindled ; 



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16 THE CEAiq^E CLASSICS 

And erect upon the mountains, 
Gitche Manito, the mighty, 
Smoked the calumet, the Peace-Pipe, 
As a signal to the nations. 

And the smoke rose slowly, slowly. 
Through the tranquil air of morning. 
First a single line of darkness. 
Then a denser, bluer vapor, ^^ 

Then a snow-white cloud unfolding. 
Like the tree-tops of the forest. 
Ever rising, rising, rising. 
Till it touched the top of heaven, 
. Till it broke against the heaven, *^ 

And rolled outward all around it. 

Prom the Vale of Tawasentha, 
Prom the Valley of Wyoming, 
Prom the groves of Tuscaloosa, 
Prom the far-off Rocky Mountains, *^ 

Prom the E'orthern lakes and rivers, 
All the tribes beheld the signal. 
Saw the distant smoke ascending. 
The Pukwana of the Peace-Pipe. 
And the Prophets of the nations 
Said: " Behold it, the Pukwana ! 
By this signal from afar off. 
Bending like a wand of willow, 
Waving like a hand that beckons, 
Gitche Manito, the mighty. 
Calls the tribes of men together. 
Calls the warriors to his council ! " 

Down the rivers, o'er the prairies. 



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THE PEACE-PIPE 



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Came tlie Avarriors of the nations, 

Came the Delawares and Mohawks, ^° 

Came the Choctaws and Camanches, 

Came the Shoshonies and Blackfeet, 

Came the Pawnees and Omawhaws, 

Came the Mandans and Dacotahs, 

Came the Hurons and Ojibways, ®^ 

All the warriors drawn together 

By the signal of the Peace-Pipe, 

To the Mountains of the Prairie, 

To the great Red Pipe-stone Quarry. 

And they stood there on the meadow, "^^ 

With their weapons and their war-gear, 
Painted like the leaves of Autumn, 
Painted like the sky of morning, 
Wildly glaring at each other ; 

In their faces stern defiance, "^^ 

In their hearts the feuds of ages, 
The hereditary hatred. 
The ancestral thirst of vengeance. 

Gitche Manito, the mighty. 
The creator of the nations, ^^ 

Looked upon them with compassion, 
With paternal love and pity ; 
Looked upon their wrath and wrangling 
But as quarrels among children, 
But as feuds and fights of children ! ^^ 

Over them he stretched his right hand. 
To subdue their stubborn natures, 
To allay their thirst and fever, 
By the shadow of his right hand ; 



18 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Spake to them with voice majestic 

As the sound of far-off waters, 

Falling into deep abysses, 

Warning, chiding, spake in this wise: — 

" O my children ! my poor children ! 
Listen to the words of wisdom, 
Listen to the words of warning. 
From the lips of the Great Spirit, 
From the Master of Lif e^ who made you ! 

"I have given you lands to hunt in, 
I have given you streams to fish in, 
I have given you bear and bison, 
I have given you roe and reindeer, 
I have given you brant and beaver. 
Filled the marshes full of wild-fowl. 
Filled the rivers full of fishes ; 
Why then are you not contented ? 
Why then will you hunt each other ? 

" I am weary of your quarrels. 
Weary of your wars and bloodshed. 
Weary of your prayers for vengeance. 
Of your wranglings and dissensions ; 
All your strength is in your union, 
All your danger is in discord ; 
Therefore be at peace henceforward. 
And as brothers live together. 

" I will send a Prophet to you, 
A Deliverer of the nations. 
Who shall guide you and shall teach you, 
Who shall toil and suffer with you. 
If you listen to his counsels, 



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THE PEACE-PIPE 19 

You will multiply and prosper ; 
If his warnings pass unheeded, 
You will fade away and perish ! 

^' Bathe now in the stream before you, 
Wash the war-paint from your faces, ^^^ 

Wash the blood-stains from your fingers, 
Bury your war-clubs and your weapons. 
Break the red stone from this quarry. 
Mould and make it into Peace-Pipes, 
Take the reeds that grow beside you, ^^^ 

Deck them with your brightest feathers. 
Smoke the calumet together, 
And as brothers live henceforward ! '^ 

Then upon the ground the warriors 
Threw their cloaks and shirts of deer-skin, ^^^ 

Threw their weapons and their war-gear, 
Leaped into the rushing river, 
Washed the w^ar-paint from their faces. 
Clear above them flowed the water. 
Clear and limpid from the footprints ^^^ 

Of the Master of Life descending; 
Dark below^ them flowed the water. 
Soiled and stained with streaks of crimson, 
As if blood were mingled with it ! 

From the river came the warriors, **' 

Clean and washed from all their war-paint ; 
On the banks their clubs they buried, 
Buried all their warlike weapons. 
Gitche Manito, the mighty. 

The Great Spirit, the creator, ^^^ 

Smiled upon his helpless children ! 



20 THE CRAiq-E CLASSICS 

And in silence all the warriors 
Broke the red stone of the quarry, 
Smoothed and formed it into Peace-Pipes, 
Broke the long reeds by the river, 
Decked them with their brightest feathers, 
And departed each one homeward. 
While the Master of Life, ascending. 
Through the opening of clond-cur tains, 
Through the doorways of the heaven. 
Vanished from before their faces. 
In the smoke that rolled around him, 
The Pukwana of the Peace-Pipe ! 



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THE FOUR WINDS 21 



THE FOUR WIISTDS. 
II. 

" Honor be to Mudjekeewis ! " 
Cried the warriors, cried the old men, 
When he came in triumph homeward 
With the sacred Belt of Wampum, 
From the regions of the IsTorth-Wind, 
From the kingdom of Wabasso, 
From the land of the White Eabbit. 

He had stolen the Belt of Wampum 
From the neck of Mishe-Mokwa, 
From the Great Bear of the mountains, 
From the terror of the nations, 
As he lay asleep and cumbrous 
On the summit of the mountains, 
Like a rock with mosses on it. 
Spotted brown and gray with mosses. 

Silently he stole upon him. 
Till the red nails of the monster 
Almost touched him, almost scared him. 
Till the hot breath of his nostrils 
Warmed the hands of Mudjekeewis, 
As he drew the Belt of Wampum 
Over the round ears, that heard not. 
Over the small eyes, that saw not. 



Over the long nose and nostrils. 
The black muffle of the nostrils, 
Out of which the heavy breathing- 
Warmed the hands of Mudjekeewis. 



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22 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Then lie swung aloft liis war-club, 
Shouted loud and long his war-cry, 
Smote the mighty Mishe-Mokwa 
In the middle of the forehead, 
Right between the eyes he smote him. 

With the heavy blow bewildered. 
Rose the Great Bear of the mountains ; 
But his knees beneath him trembled. 
And he whimpered like a woman. 
As he reeled and staggered forward. 
As he sat upon his haunches ; 
And the mighty Mudjekeewis, 
Standing fearlessly before him, 
Taunted him in loud derision, 
Spake disdainfully in this wise: — 

^^Hark you. Bear! you are a coward, 
And no Brave, as you pretended; 
Else you would not cry and whimper 
Like a miserable woman ! 
Bear ! you know our tribes are hostile, 
Long have been at war together ; 
E'ow you find that we are strongest, 
'You go sneaking in the forest, 
You go hiding in the mountains ! 
Had you conquered me in battle 
i^Tot a groan would I have uttered ; 
But you. Bear ! sit here and whimper, 
And disgrace your tribe by crying. 
Like a wretched Shaugodaya, 
Like a cowardly old woman ! " 

Then again he raised his war-club, 



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THE FOUR WINDS 23 

Smote again the Mishe-Mokwa 

In the middle of his forehead, ®^ 

Broke his skull, as ice is broken 

When one goes to fish in Winter. 

Thus was slain the Mishe-Mokwa, 

He the Great Bear of the mountains, 

He the terror of the nations. ^^ 

" Honor be to Mudjekeewis ! '' 
With a shout exclaimed the people ; 
" Honor be to Mudjekeewis ! 
Henceforth he shall be the West- Wind, 
And hereafter and for ever ''^ 

Shall he hold supreme dominion 
Over all the winds of heaven. 
Call him no more Mudjekeewis, 
Call him Kabeyun, the West-Wind ! " 

Thus was Mudjekeewis chosen ''^ 

Father of the Winds of Heaven. 
For himself he kept the West-Wind, 
Gave the others to his children ; 
Unto Wabun gave the East-Wind, 
Gave the South to Shawondasee, ^^ 

And the IsTorth-Wind, wild and cruel, 
To the fierce Kabibonokka. 

Yoimg and beautiful was Wabun; 
He it was who brought the morning. 
He it was whose silver arrows ^^ 

Chased the dark o'er hill and valley; 
He it was whose cheeks were painted 
With the brightest streaks of crimson, 
And whose voice awoke the village, 



24 THE CRANE CLASSICS 



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Called the deer, and called the hunter. 

Lonely in the sky was Wahnn ; 
Though the birds sang gayly to him, 
Though the wild-flowers of the meadow 
Filled the air with odors for him, 
Though the forests and the rivers ^^ 

Sang and shouted at his coming, 
Still his heart was sad within him, 
For he was alone in heaven. 

But one morning, gazing earthward, 
While the village still was sleeping, ^^^ 

And the fog lay on the river. 
Like a ghost, that goes at sunrise. 
He beheld a maiden walking 
All alone upon a meadow. 

Gathering water-flags and rushes ^^^' 

By a river in the meadow. 

Every morning, gazing earthward. 
Still the first thing he beheld there 
Was her blue eyes looking at him. 
Two blue lakes among the rushes. ^^^ 

And he loved the lonely maiden. 
Who thus waited for his coming ; 
For they both were solitary. 
She on earth and he in heaven. 

And he wooed her with caresses, ^^° 

Wooed her with his smile of sunshine. 
With his flattering words he wooed her. 
With his sighing and his singing, 
Gentlest whispers in the branches. 
Softest music, sweetest odors, 



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THE FOUR WINDS 25 

Till lie drew her to his bosom, 

Folded in his robes of crimson, ~ - \ 

Till into a star he changed her. 

Trembling still upon his bosom; 

And forever in the heavens ^^s 

They are seen together walking, 

Wabun and the Wabun-Annung, 

Wabun and the Star of Morning. 

But the fierce Kabibonokka 
Had his dwelling among icebergs, ^'^ 

In the everlasting snow-drifts. 
In the kingdom of Wabasso, 
In the land of the White Rabbit. 
He it was whose hand in Autumn 
Painted all the trees with scarlet, ^^^ 

Stained the leaves with red and yellow ; 
He it was who sent the snow-flakes. 
Sifting, hissing through the forest. 
Froze the ponds, the lakes, the rivers, 
Drove the loon and sea-gull southward, ^*^ 

Drove the cormorant and curlew 
To their nests of sedge and sea-tang 
In the realms of Shawondasee. 

Once the fierce Kabibonokka 
Issued from his lodge of snow-drifts, ^*^ 

From his lodge among the icebergs. 
And his hair, with snow besprinkled. 
Streamed behind him like a river. 
Like a black and wintry river. 
As he howled and hurried southward, *^^ 

Over frozen lakes and moorlands. 



26 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

There among the reeds and rushes 
Found he Shingebis, the diver, 
Trailing strings of fish behind him, 
O'er the frozen fens and moorlands, ^^^ 

Lingering still among the moorlands, 
Though his tribe had long departed 
To the land of Shawondasee. 

Cried the fierce Kabibonokka, 
" Who is this that dares to brave me ? ^^^ 

Dares to stay in my dominions, 
Wlien the Wawa has departed, 
When the wild-goose has gone southward, 
And the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
Long ago departed southward ? i^^ 

I will go into his wigwam, 
I will put his smouldering fire out ! " 

And at night Kabibonokka 
To the lodge came wild and wailing. 
Heaped the snow in drifts about it, ^'^ 

Shouted down into the smoke-flue, 
Shook the lodge-poles in his fury, 
Flapped the curtain of the doorway. 
Shingebis, the diver, feared not, 
Shingebis, the diver, cared not; i"5 

Four great logs had he for fire-wood, 
One for each moon of the winter, 
And for food the fishes served him. 
By his blazing fire he sat there, 
Warm and merry, eating, laughing, iso 

Singing, " Kabibonokka, 
You are but my fellow-mortal ! " 



THE BOUB WINDS 



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Then Kabibonokka entered, 
And tbongh Shingebis, the diver, 
Felt bis presence by tbe coldness, 
Eelt bis icy breath upon him. 
Still he did not cease his singing. 
Still he did not leave his laughing. 
Only turned the log a little, 
Only made the fire burn brighter. 
Made the sparks fly up the smoke-flue. 

From Kabibonokka's forehead. 
From his snow-besprinkled tresses, 
Drops of sweat fell fast and heavy. 
Making dints upon the ashes. 
As along the eaves of lodges. 
As from drooping boughs of hemlock. 
Drips the melting snow in spring-time. 
Making hollows in the snow-drifts. 

Till at last he rose defeated. 
Could not bear the heat and laughter. 
Could not bear the merry singing, 
But rushed headlong through the doorway. 
Stamped upon the crusted snow-drifts. 
Stamped upon the lakes and rivers, -^^ 

Made the snow upon them harder. 
Made the ice upon them thicker. 
Challenged Shingebis, the diver. 
To come forth and wrestle with him. 
To come forth and wrestle naked ^^^ 

On the frozen fens and moorlands. 

Forth went Shingebis, the diver, 
Wrestled all night with the JSTorth-Wind^ 



200 



28 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Wrestled naked on the moorlands 
With the fierce Kabibonokka, 
Till his panting breath grew fainter, 
Till his frozen grasp grew feebler, 
Till he reeled and staggered backward. 
And retreated, baffled, beaten. 
To the kingdom of Wabasso, 
To the land of the White Eabbit, 
Hearing still the gusty laughter. 
Hearing Shingebis, the diver. 
Singing, " O Kabibonokka, 
You are but my fellow-mortal ! " 

Shawondasee, fat and lazy. 
Had his dwelling far to southward. 
In the drowsy, dreamy sunshine. 
In the never-ending Summer. 
He it was who sent the wood-birds. 
Sent the Opechee, the robin. 
Sent the blue-bird, the Owaissa, 
Sent the Shawshaw, sent the swallow. 
Sent the wild-goose, Wawa, northward. 
Sent the melons and tobacco, 
And the grapes in purple clusters. 

From his pipe the smoke ascending 
Filled the sky with haze and vapor, 
Filled the air with dreamy softness, 
Gave a twinkle to the water. 
Touched the rugged hills with smoothness. 
Brought the tender Indian Summer 
To the melancholy N'orth-land, 
In the dreary Moon of Snow-shoes. 



250 



255 



THE FOUR WINDS 29 

Listless, careless Shawondasee ! ^'^^ 

In his life he had one shadow, 
In his heart one sorrow had he. 
Once, as he was gazing northward, 
Far away upon a prairie 
He beheld a maiden standing. 
Saw a tall and slender maiden 
All alone upon a prairie ; 
Brightest green were all her garments. 
And her hair was like the sunshine. 
Day by day he gazed upon her. 
Day by day he sighed^ with passion. 
Day by day his heart within him 
Grew more hot with love and longing 
For the maid with yellow tresses. 
But he was too fat and lazy 
To bestir himself and woo her ; 
Yes, too indolent and easy 
To pursue her and persuade her. 
So he only gazed upon her. 
Only sat and sighed with passion 
For the maiden of the prairie. 

Till one morning, looking northward, 
He beheld her yellow tresses 
Changed and covered o'er with whiteness, 
Covered as with whitest snow-flakes. ^'^ 

"Ah, my brother from the ^DTorth-land, 
From the kingdom of Wabasso, 
From the land of the White Rabbit ! 
You have stolen the maiden from me. 
You have laid your hand upon her, ^"^^ 



260 



265 



280 



30 THE C15A1S-E CLASSICS 

You have wooed and won my maiden, 
With your stories of the North-land ! " 

Thus the wretched Shawondasee 
Breathed into the air his sorrow; 
And the South-Wind o'er the prairie 
Wandered warm with sighs of passion, 
With the sighs of Shawondasee, 
Till the air seemed full of snow-flakes, 
Full of thistle-down the prairie, 
And the maid with hair like sunshine ^^^ 

Vanished from his sight for ever ; 
IsTever more did Shawondasee 
See the maid with yellow tresses ! 

Poor, deluded Shawondasee ! 
'T was no woman that you gazed at, 
'T was no maiden that you sighed for, 
'T was the prairie dandelion 
That through all the dreamy Summer 
You had gazed at with such longing. 
You had sighed for with such passion. 
And had puffed away for ever. 
Blown into the air with sighing. 
Ah ! deluded Shawondasee ! 

Thus the Four Winds were divided; 
Thus the sons of Mudjekeewis ^^^ 

Had their stations in the heavens. 
At the corners of the heavens ; 
For himself the West- Wind only 
Kept the mighty Mudjekeewis. 



290 



295 



31 



HIAWATHA'S CHILDHOOD. 
III. 

Downward througli the evening twilight, 

In the days that are forgotten, 

In the nnrememhered ages, 

From the full moon fell !N'okomis, 

Fell the beautiful N'okomis, 

She a wife, but not a mother. 

She was sporting with her women, 
Swinging in a swing of grape-vines. 
When her rival, the rejected, 
Full of jealousy and hatred. 
Cut the leafy swing asunder. 
Cut in twain the twisted grape-vines. 
And ^okomis fell affrighted 
Downward through the evening twilight, 
On the Muskoday, the meadow. 
On the prairie full of blossoms. 
" See ! a star falls ! " said the people ; 
'^ From the sky a star is falling ! '^ 

There among the ferns and mosses. 
There among the prairie lilies. 
On the Muskoday, the meadow. 
In the moonlight and the starlight. 
Fair Nokomis bore a daughter. 
And she called her name Wenonah, 
As the first-born of her daughters. 
And the daughter of ISTokomis 
Grew up like the prairie lilies. 



10 



IS 



20 



25 



40 



32 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

Grew a tall and slender maiden, 

With the beauty of the moonlight, 

With the beauty of the starlight. ^^ 

And l^okomis warned her often, 
Saying oft, and oft repeating, 
^' 0, beware of Mndjekeewis, 
Of the West-Wind, Mndjekeewis; 
Listen not to what he tells you; ^^ 

Lie not down upon the meadow. 
Stoop not down among the lilies. 
Lest the West-Wind come and harm you ! '' 

But she heeded not the warning. 
Heeded not those words of wisdom. 
And the West- Wind came at evening. 
Walking lightly o'er the prairie. 
Whispering to the leaves and blossoms. 
Bending low the flowers and grasses, 
Found the beautiful Wenonah, 
Lying there among the lilies. 
Wooed lier with his words of sweetness, 
Wooed her with his soft caresses. 
Till she bore a son in sorrow. 
Bore a son of love and sorrow. ^^ 

Thus was born my Hiawatha, 
Thus was born the child of wonder ; 
But the daughter of Nokomis, 
Hiawatha's gentle mother. 
In her anguish died deserted 
By the West- Wind, false and faithless, 
By the heartless Mndjekeewis. 

For her daughter, long and loudly 



45 



55 



33 



Wailed and wept tlie sad E'okomis ; 

" that I were dead ! '' she murmnred, ^^ 

" O that I were dead, as thou art ! 

J^o more work, and no more weeping, 

Wahonowin ! Wahonowin ! " 

Bj the shores of Gitche Gumee, 
Bj the shining Big-Sea- Water, ^^ 

Stood the wigwam of Nokomis, 
Daughter of the Moon, ITokomis. 
Dark behind it rose the forest. 
Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees, 
Eose the firs with cones upon them ; ^^ 

Bright before it beat the water. 
Beat the clear and sunny water. 
Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water. 

There the wrinkled, old ISTokomis 
ISTursed the little Hiawatha, "^^ 

Rocked him in his linden cradle, 
Bedded soft in moss and rushes. 
Safely bound with reindeer sinews ; 
Stilled his fretful wail by saying, 
" Hush ! the leaked Bear will get thee ! " ^o 

Lulled him into slumber, singing, 
" Ewa-yea ! my little owlet ! 
Who is this, that lights the wigwam ? 
With his great eyes lights the wigwam ? 
Ewa-yea ! my little owlet ! " ^^ 

Many things !N"okomis taught him 
Of the stars that shine in heaven ; 
Showed him Ishkoodah, the comet, 
Ishkoodah, with fiery tresses; 



34 THE CRAKE CLASSICS 



90 



95 



100 



Showed the Death-Dance of the spirits, 
Warriors with their plumes and war-clubs, 
Flaring far away to northward 
In the frosty nights of Winter ; 
Showed the broad, white road in heaven, 
Pathway of the ghosts, the shadows, 
Eunning straight across the heavens. 
Crowded with the ghosts, the shadows. 

At the door on summer evenings 
Sat the little Hiawatha ; 
Heard the whispering of the pine-trees, 
Heard the lapping of the water, 
Sounds of music, words of wonder ; 
" Minne-wawa ! '' said the pine-trees, 
" Mudway-aushka ! " said the water. 

Saw the fire-fly, Wah-wah-taysee, 
Flitting through the dusk of evening. 
With the twinkle of its candle 
Lighting up the brakes and bushes, 
And he sang the song of children-. 
Sang the song ^N'okomis taught him: ^^^ 

^^Wah-wah-taysee, little fire-fly. 
Little, flitting, white-fire insect. 
Little, dancing, white-fire creature. 
Light me with your little candle, 
Ere upon my bed I lay me, ^ ^ ^ 

Ere in sleep I close my eyelids ! '' 

Saw the moon rise from the water 
Rippling, rounding from the water. 
Saw the flecks and shadows on it, 
Whispered, '' What is that, ^sTokomis ? '' ^^o 



105 



125 



130 



HTAWATHA^S CHILDHOOD 35 

And the good ^okomis answered : 

" Once a warrior, very angry, 

Seized his grandmother, and threw her 

Up into the sky at midnight ; 

Right against the moon he threw her ; 

'T is her body that you see there.'' 

Saw the rainbow in the heaven, 
In the eastern sky, the rainbow. 
Whispered, " What is that, :N'okomis ? '' 
And the good Nokomis answered : 
" 'T is the heaven of flowers you see there ; 
All the wild-flowers of the forest. 
All the lilies of the prairie, 
When on earth they fade and perish. 
Blossom in that heaven above us." ^^^ 

When he heard the owls at midnight. 
Hooting, laughing in the forest, 
" What is that ? '' he cried in terror ; 
" Wliat is that," he said, " J^okomis ? " 
And the good E'okomis answered : ^^^ 

" That is but the owl and owlet. 
Talking in their native language. 
Talking, scolding at each other." 

Then the little Hiawatha 
Learned of every bird its language, ^*^ 

Learned their names and all their secrets. 
How they built their nests in Summer, 
Where they hid themselves in Winter, 
Talked with them whene'er he met them, 
Called them " Hiawatha's Chickens." ^^o 

Of all beasts he learned the language, 



36 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

Learned their names and all their secrets 



^How the beavers built their lodges, 

Where the squirrels hid their acorns, 

How the reindeer ran so swiftly, ^^^ 

Why the rabbit was so timid. 

Talked with them whene'er he met them. 

Called them " Hiawatha's Brothers." 

Then lagoo, the great boaster, 
He the marvellous story-teller, ^^^ 

He the traveller and the talker, 
He the friend of old Nokomis, 
Made a bow for Hiawatha ; 
From a branch of ash he made it, 
From an oak-bough made the arrows, ^^^ 

Tipped with flint, and winged with feathers. 
And the cord he made of deer-skin. 

Then he said to Hiawatha : 
" Go, my son, into the forest. 

Where the red deer herd together, ^^^ 

Kill for us a famous roebuck. 
Kill for us a deer with antlers ! " 

Forth into the forest straightway 
All alone walked Hiawatha 

Proudly, with his bow and arrows ; ^^^ 

And the birds sang round him, o'er him, 
" Do not shoot us, Hiawatha ! " 
Sang the Opechee, the robin, 
Sang the blue-bird, the Owaissa, 
" Do not shoot us, Hiawatha ! " ^^o 

Up the oak-tree, close beside him, 
Sprang the squirrel, Adjidaumo, 



185 



190 



195 



Hiawatha's childhood 37 

In and out among the branches, 
Coughed and chattered from the oak-tree, 
Laughed, and said between his laughing, 
" Do not shoot me, Hiawatha ! '' 

And the rabbit from his pathway 
Leaped aside, and at a distance 
Sat erect upon his haunches. 
Half in fear and half in frolic. 
Saying to the little hunter, 
" Do not shoot me, Hiawatha ! " 

But he heeded not, nor heard them. 
For his thoughts were with the red deer ; 
On their tracks his eyes were fastened. 
Leading downward to the river, 
To the ford across the river. 
And as one in slumber walked he. 

Hidden in the alder-bushes. 
There he waited till the deer came. 
Till he saw two antlers lifted, 
Saw two eyes look from the thicket, 
Saw two nostrils point to windward, 
And a deer came down the pathway, 
Flecked with leafy light and shadow. 
And his heart within him fluttered. 
Trembled like the leaves above him. 
Like the birch-leaf palpitated. 
As the deer came down the pathway. 

Then, upon one knee uprising, 
Hiawatha aimed an arrow; 
Scarce a twig moved with his motion. 
Scarce a leaf was stirred or rustled, 



200 



210 



215 



38 THE CEAITE CLASSICS 

But the wary roebuck started, 
Stamped witli all his hoofs together, 
Listened with one foot uplifted, 
Leaped as if to meet the arrow; 
Ah ! the singing, fatal arrow. 
Like a wasp it buzzed and stung him ! 

Dead he lay there in the forest, ^^^ 

By the ford across the river; 
Beat his timid heart no longer. 
But the heart of Hiawatha 
Throbbed and shouted and exulted, 
As he bore the red deer homeward, ^-^ 

And lagoo and E'okomis 
Hailed his coming with applauses. 

From the red deer's hide Nokomis 
Made a cloak for Hiawatha, 

From the red deer's flesh ^N'okomis ^^^ 

Made a banquet in his honor. 
All the village came and feasted, 
All the guests praised Hiawatha, 
Called him Strong-Heart, Soan-ge-taha ! 
Called him Loon-Heart, Mahn-go-taysee ! ^ss 



HIAWATHA AND MUDJEKEEWIS 39 



HIAWATHA AND MUDJEKEEWIS. 
IV. 

Out of childhood into manliood 

ISTow had grown my Hiawatha, 

Skilled in all the craft of hunters, 

Learned in all the lore of old men, 

In all youthful sports and pastimes, ^ 

In all manly arts and labors. 

Swift of foot was Hiawatha ; 
He could shoot an arrow from him. 
And run forward with such fleetness 
That the arrow fell behind him ! ^^ 

Strong of arm was Hiawatha ; 
He could shoot ten arrows upward. 
Shoot them with such strength and swiftness, 
That the tenth had left the bow-string 
Ere the first to earth had fallen ! ^^ 

He had mittens, Minjekahwun, 
Magic mittens made of deer-skin ; 
When upon his hands he wore them. 
He could smite the rocks asunder. 
He could grind them into powder. ^^ 

He had moccasons enchanted. 
Magic moccasons of deer-skin; 
"When he bound them round his ankles. 
When upon his feet he tied them, 
At each stride a mile he measured ! ^5 

Much he questioned old ^okomis 
Of his father Mudjekeewis ; 



35 



40 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

Learned from her tlie fatal secret 

Of the heauty of his mother, 

Of the falsehood of his father ; ^^ 

And his heart was hot within him, 

Like a living coal his heart was. 

Then he said to old Nokomis, 
" I will go to Mudjekeewis, 
See how fares it with my father. 
At the doorways of the West-Wind, 
At the portals of the Sunset ! '' 

Erom his lodge went Hiawatha, 
Dressed for travel, armed for himting ; 
Dressed in deer-skin shirt and leggings, 
Richly wrought with quills and wampum ; 
On his head his eagle-feathers, 
Round his waist his belt of wampum. 
In his hand his bow of ash-wood. 
Strung with sinews of the reindeer ; 
In his quiver oaken arrows, 
Tipped with jasper, winged with feathers ; 
With his mittens, Minjekahwun, 
With his moccasons enchanted. 
Warning said the old Is'okomis, '^^ 

" Go not forth, O Hiawatha ! 
To the kingdom of the West-Wind, 
To the realms of Mudjekeewis, 
Lest he harm you with his magic. 
Lest he kill you with his cunning ! '' ^^ 

But the fearless Hiawatha 
Heeded not her woman's warning ; 
Forth he strode into the forest, 



45 



HIAWATHA AND MUDJEKEEWIS 



41 



60 



70 



At each stride a mile he measured ; 
Lurid seemed the sky above him, 
Lurid seemed the earth beneath him, 
Hot and close the air aroimd him, 
Filled with smoke and fiery vapors, 
As of burning woods and prairies, 
For his heart was hot within him, 
Like a living coal his heart was. 

So he journej'ed westward, westward, 
Left the fleetest deer behind him, 
Left the antelope and bison ; 
Crossed the rushing Esconawbaw, 
Crossed the mighty Mississippi, 
Passed the Mountains of the Prairie, 
Passed the land of Crows and Foxes, 
Passed the dwellings of the Blackfeet, 
Came unto the Rocky Mountains, 
To the kingdom of the West-Wind, 
Where upon the gusty summits 
Sat the ancient Mudjekeewis, 
Ruler of the winds of heaven. 

Filled with awe was IliaAvatha ^^ 

At the aspect of his father. 
On the air about him wildly 
Tossed and streamed his cloudy tresses, 
Gleamed like drifting snow his tresses, 
Glared like Ishkoodah, the comet. 
Like the star with fiery tresses. 

Filled with joy was Mudjekeewis 
When he looked on Hiawatha, 
Saw his youth rise up before him 



75 



85 



42 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

In the face of Hiawatlia, ^^ 

Saw the beauty of Wenonah 
From the grave rise up before him. 

" Welcome ! " said he, " Hiawatha, 
To the kingdom of the West-Wind ! 
Long have I been waiting for yon I ^^ 

Youth is lovely, age is lonely. 
Youth is fiery, age is frosty ; 
You bring back the days departed. 
You bring back my youth of passion. 
And the beautiful Wenonah ! " '^^ 

Many days they talked together. 
Questioned, listened, waited, answered; 
Much the mighty Mudjekeewis 
Boasted of his ancient prowess, 
Of his perilous adventures, ^^^ 

His indomitable courage. 
His invulnerable body. 

Patiently sat Hiawatha, 
Listening to his father's boasting; 
With a smile he sat and listened, ^^^ 

Uttered neither threat nor menace, 
l^either word nor look betrayed him. 
But his heart was hot within him. 
Like a living coal his heart was. 

Then he said, "O Mudjekeewis, ^^^ 

Is there nothing that can harm you ? 
IN'othing that you are afraid of ? " 
And the mighty Mudjekeewis, 
Grand and gracious in his boasting. 
Answered, saying, " There is nothing, 



120 



130 



135 



HIAWATHA AND MUDJEKEEWIS 43 

N'othing but the black rock yonder, 
ISTotliing but the fatal Wawbeek ! " 

And he looked at Hiawatha 
With a wise look and benignant, 
With a countenance paternal, ^^^ 

Looked with pride upon the beauty 
Of his tall and graceful figure. 
Saying, " my Hiawatha ! 
Is there anything can harm you ? 
Anything you are afraid of ? " 

But the wary Hiawatha 
Paused awhile, as if uncertain, 
Held his peace, as if resolving, 
And then answered, " There is nothing, 
E'othing but the bulrush yonder, 
Nothing but the great Apukwa ! " 

And as Mudjekeewis, rising. 
Stretched his hand to pluck the bulrush, 
Hiawatha cried in terror, 

Cried in well-dissembled terror, ^^^ 

" Kago ! kago ! do not touch it ! " 
" Ah, kaween ! " said Mudjekeewis, 
" 'No indeed, I will not touch it ! '' 

Then they talked of other matters ; 
First of Hiawatha's brothers, 
First of Wabun, of the East-Wind, 
Of the South-Wind, Shawondasee, 
Of the ^orth, Kabibonokka ; 
Then of Hiawatha's mother, 
Of the beautiful Wenonah, 
Of her birth upon the meadow, 



145 



150 



44 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Of her death, as old E'okomis 
Had remembered and related. 

And he cried, " O Mudjekeewis, 
It was you who killed Wenonah, 
Took her young life and her beauty, 
Broke the Lily of the Prairie, 
Trampled it beneath your footsteps; 
You confess it ! you confess it ! " 
And the mighty Mudjekeewis 
Tossed his gray hairs to the West-Wind, 
Bowed his hoary head in anguish, 
With a silent nod assented. 

Then up started Hiawatha, 
And with threatening look and gesture 
Laid his hand upon the black rock. 
On the fatal Wawbeek laid it. 
With his mittens, Minjekahwun, 
Kent the jutting crag asunder. 
Smote and crushed it into fragments. 
Hurled them madly at his father, 
The remorseful Mudjekeewis, 
For his heart was hot within him. 
Like a living coal his heart was. 

But the ruler of the West-Wind 
Blew the fragments backward from him, 
With the breathing of his nostrils, 
With the tempest of his anger, 
Blew them back at his assailant ; 
Seized the bulrush, the Apukwa, 
Dragged it with its roots and fibres 
From the margin of the meadow, 



185 



190 



HIAWATHA AT^D MUDJEKEEWIS 45 

From its ooze, tlie giant bulmsli ; 
Long and loud laughed Hiawatha ! 

Then began the deadly conflict, 
Hand to hand among the mountains ; 
From his eyry screamed the eagle, 
The Keneu, the great War-Eagle ; 
Sat upon the crags around them, 
Wheeling flapped his wings above them. 

Like a tall tree in the tempest 
Bent and lashed the giant bulrush ; 
And in masses huge and heavy 
Crashing fell the fatal Wawbeek; 
Till the earth shook with the tumult ^^^ 

And confusion of the battle, 
And the air was full of shoutings. 
And the thunder of the mountains, 
Starting, answered, " Baim-wawa ! '^ 

Back retreated Mudjekeewis, 
Eushing westward o'er the mountains, 
Stumbling westward down the mountains. 
Three whole days retreated fighting, 
Still pursued by Hiawatha 
To the doorways of the West- Wind, 
To the portals of the Sunset, 
To the earth's remotest border, 
Where into the open spaces 
Sinks the sun, as a flamingo 

Drops into her nest at nightfall, ^^^ 

In the melancholy marshes. 

" Hold ! " at length cried Mudjekeewis, 
" Hold, my son, my Hiawatha ! 



200 



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46 THE CRAiq"E CLASSICS 

'T is impossible to kill me, 

For you cannot kill the immortal. 

I have put you to this trial 

But to know and prove your courage ; 

'Now receive the prize of valor ! 

" Go back to your home and people, 
Live among them, toil among them, 
Cleanse the earth from all that harms it, 
Clear the fishing-grounds and rivers, 
Slay all monsters and magicians, 
All the giants, the Wendigoes, 
All the serpents, the Kenabeeks, 
As I slew the Mishe-Mokwa, 
Slew the Great Bear of the mountains. 

"And at last when Death draws near you, 
Wlien the awful eyes of Pauguk 
Glare upon you in the darkness, 
I will share my kingdom with you, 
Euler shall you be thenceforward 
Of the I^orthwest-Wind, Keewaydin, 
Of the home-wind, the Keewaydin.'' 
Thus was fought that famous battle 
In the dreadful days of Shah-shah, 
In the days long since departed. 
In the kingdom of the West-Wind. 
Still the hunter sees its traces 
Scattered far o'er hill and valley ; 
Sees the giant bulrush growing 
By the ponds and water-courses. 
Sees the masses of the Wawbeek 
Lying still in every valley. 



215 



220 



225 



230 



235 



240 



HIAWATHA AND MUDJEKEEWIS 47 

Homeward now went Hiawatha; ^^^ 

Pleasant was the landscape round him, 
Pleasant was the air above him, 
For the bitterness of anger 
Had departed wholly from him, 
From his brain the thought of vengeance, ^^^ 

From his heart the burning fever. 

Only once his pace he slackened. 
Only once he paused or halted, 
Paused to purchase heads of arrows 
Of the ancient Arrow-maker, ^^^ 

In the land of the Dacotahs, 
Where the Falls of Minnehaha 
Flash and gleam among the oak-trees. 
Laugh and leap into the valley. 

There the ancient Arrow-maker ^^^ 

Made his arrow-heads of 'sand-stone. 
Arrow-heads of chalcedony. 
Arrow-heads of flint and jasper, 
Smoothed and sharpened at the edges. 
Hard and polished, keen and costly. ^^^ 

With him dwelt his dark-eyed daughter. 
Wayward as the Minnehaha, 
With her moods of shade and sunshine. 
Eyes that smiled and frowned alternate, 
Feet as rapid as the river, 270 

Tresses flowing like the water. 
And as musical a laughter; 
And he named her from the river. 
From the water-fall he named her, 
Minnehaha, Laughing Water. 275 



48 THE CEA^E CLASSICS 

Was it then for heads of arrows, 
Arrow-heads of chalcedony, 
Arrow-heads of flint and jasper, 
That my Hiawatha halted 
In the land of the Dacotahs ? 28o 

Was it not to see the maiden. 
See the face of Laughing Water 
Peeping from behind the curtain. 
Hear the rustling of her garments 
From behind the waving curtain, ^^^ 

As one sees the Minnehaha 
Gleaming, glancing through the branches. 
As one hears the Laughing Water 
From behind its screen of branches ? 

Who shall say what thoughts and visions ^^^ 

Fill the fiery brains of young men ? 
Who shall say what dreams of beauty 
Filled the heart of Hiawatha ? 
All he told to old I^okomis, 

Wlien he reached the lodge at sunset, ^^^ 

Was the meeting with his father, 
Was his fight with Mudjekeewis ; 
Not a word he said of arrows, 
'Not a word of Laughing Water ! 



10 



49 



HIAWATHA'S FASTmO. 

V. 

You shall hear how Hiawatha 
Prayed and fasted in the forest, 4 
J^ot for greater skill in hunting, 
I^ot for greater craft in fishing, 
^NTot for triumphs in the battle, 
And renown among the warriors, 
But for profit of the people, 
For advantage of the nations. 

First he built a lodge for fasting. 
Built a wig^vam in the forest, 
By the shining Big-Sea-Water, 
In the blithe and pleasant Spring-time, 
In the Moon of Leaves he built it. 
And, with dreams and visions many, 
Seven whole days and nights he fasted. 

On the first day of his fasting 
Through the leafy woods he wandered ; 
Saw the deer start from the thicket, 
Saw the rabbit in his burrow. 
Heard the pheasant, Bena, drumming, 20 

Heard the squirrel, Adjidaumo, 
Battling in his hoard of acorns, 
Saw the pigeon, the Omeme, 
Building nests among the pine-trees, 
And in flocks the wild-goose, Wawa, ^^ 

Flying to the fen-lands northward. 
Whirring, wailing far above him. 



15 



30 



35 



50 THE CRAN"E CLASSICS 

" Master of Life ! '' he cried, "desponding, 
" Must our lives depend on these things ? " 

On the next day of his fasting 
By the river's brink he wandered, 
Through the Muskoday, the meadow, 
Saw the wild rice, Mahnomonee, 
Saw the blueberry, Meenahga, 
And the strawberry, Odahmin, 
And the gooseberry, Shahbomin, 
And the grape-vine, the Bemahgut, 
Trailing o'er the alder-branches. 
Filling all the air with fragrance ! 
^^ Master of Life ! " he cried, desponding, ^^ 

" Must our lives depend on these things ? " 

On the third day of his fasting 
By the lake he sat and pondered, 
By the still, transparent water ; 
Saw the sturgeon, ITahma, leaping, ^^ 

Scattering drops like beads of wampum, 
Saw the yellow perch, the Sahw^a, 
Like a sunbeam in the water,^ 
Saw the pike, the Maskenozha, 
And the herring, Okahahwis, ^^ 

And the Shawgashee, the craw-fish! 
" Master of Life ! " he cried, desponding, 
" Must our lives depend on these things ? '' 

On the fourth day of his fasting 
In his lodge he lay exhausted ; 
From his couch of leaves and branches 
Gazing with half -open eyelids. 
Full of shadowy dreams and visions. 



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51 



60 



65 



70 



On the dizzy, swimming landscape, 
On tlie gleaming of the water, 
On the splendor of the sunset. 

And he saw a youth approaching. 
Dressed in garments green and yellow. 
Coming through the purple twilight, 
Through the splendor of the sunset ; 
Plumes of green bent o'er his forehead. 
And his hair was soft and golden. 

Standing at the open doorway. 
Long he looked at Hiawatha, 
Looked with pity and compassion 
On his wasted form and features. 
And, in accents like the sighing 
Of the South- Wind in the tree-tops. 
Said he, '^ O my Hiawatha ! 
All your prayers are heard in heaven. 
For you pray not like the others, 
j^ot for greater skill in hunting, 
'Not for greater craft in fishing, 
!N^ot for triumph in the battle, 

J^or renown among the warriors, . > ^^ 

But for profit of the people. 
For advantage of the nations. 

" From the Master of Life descending, 
I, the friend of man, Mondamin, 
Come to warn you and instruct you, ^^ 

How by struggle and by labor 
You shall gain what you have prayed for. 
Rise up from your bed of branches, 
Rise, O youth, and wrestle with me ! " 



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52 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

Faint with famine, Hiawatha ^^ 

Started from his bed of branches, 
From the twilight of his wigwam 
Forth into the flush of sunset 
Came, and wrestled with Mondamin ; 
At his touch he felt new courage ^^ 

Throbbing in his brain and bosom, 
Felt new life and hope and vigor 
Run through every nerve and fibre. 

So they wrestled there together 
In the glory of the sunset, 
And the more they strove and struggled, 
Stronger still grew Hiawatha ; 
Till the darkness fell around them. 
And the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
From her haunts among the fen-lands. 
Gave a cry of lamentation, 
Gave a scream of pain and famine. 

" 'T is enough ! " then said Mondamin, 
Smiling upon Hiawatha, 

" But to-morrow, when the sun sets, ^^^ 

I will come again to try you." 
And he vanished, and was seen not ; 
Whether sinking as the rain sinks, 
Whether rising as the mists rise, 
Hiawatha saw not, knew not, ^^^ 

Only saw that he had vanished. 
Leaving him alone and fainting, 
With the misty lake below him. 
And the reeling stars above him. 

On the morrow and the next day. 



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53 



When the sun through heaven descending, 

Like a red and burning cinder 

From the hearth of the Great Spirit, 

Fell into the western waters, 

Came Mondamin for the trial, ^^^ 

For the strife with Hiawatha ; 

Came as silent as the dew comes, 

From the empty air appearing, 

Into empty air returning. 

Taking shape when earth it touches, , *^^ 

But invisible to all men 

In its coming and its going. 

Thrice they wrestled there together 
In the glory of the sunset, 

Till the darkness fell around them, *^^ 

Till the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
From her haunts among the fen-lands, 
Uttered her loud cry of famine, 
And Mondamin paused to listen. 
Tall and beautiful he stood there, ^*^ 

In his garments green and yellow ; 
To and fro his plumes above him 
Waved and nodded with his breathing. 
And the sweat of the encounter 
Stood like drops of dew upon him. 

And he cried, " Hiawatha ! 
Bravely have you wrestled with me, 
Thrice have wrestled stoutly with me. 
And the Master of Life, who sees us. 
He will give to you the triumph ! " 

Then he smiled, and said : " To-morrow 



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54 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

Is the last day of your conflict, 

Is the last day of your fasting. 

You will conquer and o'ercome me ; 

Make a bed for me to lie in, ^^^ 

AA^iere the rain may fall upon me, 

Where the sun may come and warm me ; 

Strip these garments, green and yellow. 

Strip this nodding plumage from me. 

Lay me in the earth, and make it 

Soft and loose and light above me. 

" Let no hand disturb my slumber, 
Let no weed nor worm molest me. 
Let not Kahgahgee, the raven. 
Come to haunt me and molest me. 
Only come yourself to watch me. 
Till I wake, and start, and quicken. 
Till I leap into the sunshine." 

And thus saying, he departed; 
Peacefully slept Hiawatha, 
But he heard the Wawonaissa, 
Heard the whippoorwill complaining, 
Perched upon his lonely wigwam ; 
Heard the rushing Sebowisha, 
Heard the rivulet rippling near him. 
Talking to the darksome forest; 
Heard the sighing of the branches, 
As they lifted and subsided 
At the passing of the night-wind. 
Heard them, as one hears in slumber 
Far-off murmurs, dreamy whispers: 
Peacefully slept Hiawatha. 



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65 



On the morrow came ^okomis, 
On the seventh day of his fasting, 
Came with food for Hiawatha, ^^^ 

Came imploring and bewailing, 
Lest his hunger should o'ercome him. 
Lest his fasting should be fatal. 

But he tasted not, and touched not, 
Only said to her, '^ ^N'okomis, 
Wait until the sun is setting. 
Till the darkness falls around us. 
Till the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
Crying from the desolate marshes. 
Tells us that the day is ended." 

Homeward weeping went ^okomis, 
Sorrowing for her Hiawatha, 
Fearing lest his strength should fail him. 
Lest his fasting should be fatal. 
He meanwhile sat weary waiting 
For the coming of Mondamin, 
Till the shadows, pointing eastward. 
Lengthened over field and forest, 
Till the sun dropped from the heaven. 
Floating on the waters westward, 
As a red leaf in the Autumn 
Falls and floats upon the water. 
Falls and sinks into its bosom. 

And behold ! the young Mondamin, 
With his soft and shining tresses. 
With his garments green and yellow, 
With his long and glossy plumage, 
Stood and beckoned at the doorway. 



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56 THE CEAXE CLASSICS 

And as one in slumber walking, 

Pale and haggard, but undaunted, ^^^ 

From the wigwam Hiawatha 

Came and wrestled with Mondamin. 

Round about him spun the landscape. 
Sky and forest reeled together, 
And his strong heart leaped within him, ^^^ 

As the sturgeon leaps and struggles 
In a net to break its meshes. 
Like a ring of fire around him 
Blazed and flared the red horizon, 
And a hundred suns seemed looking ^^^ 

At the combat of the wrestlers. 

Suddenly upon the greensward 
All alone stood Hiawatha, 
Pantimi: with his wild exertion. 
Palpitating with the struggle ; ^^^ 

And before him, breathless, lifeless, 
Lay the youth, with hair dishevelled. 
Plumage torn, and garments tattered. 
Dead he lay there in the sunset. 

And victorious Hiawatha ^^^ 

Made the grave as he commanded. 
Stripped the garments from Mondamin, 
Stripped his tattered plumage from him, 
Laid him in the earth, and made it 
Soft and loose and light above him ; 
And the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
From the melancholy moorlands, 
Gave a cry of lamentation, 
Gave a cry of pain and anguish ! 



240 



Hiawatha's fastii^-g 57 

Homeward then went Hiawatha ^^^ 

To the lodge of old Xokomis, 
And the seven days of his fasting 
Were accomplished and completed. 
But the place was not forgotten 
Where he wrestled with Mondamin ; ^^^ 

E'er forgotten nor neglected 
Was the grave where lay Mondamin, 
Sleeping in the rain and sunshine, 
Where his scattered plumes and garments 
Faded in the rain and sunshine. ^^^ 

Day by day did Hiawatha 
Go to wait and watch beside it ; 
Kept the dark mould soft above it. 
Kept it clean from weeds and insects, 
Drove away, with scoffs and shoutings, ^^'^ 

Kahgahgee, the king of ravens. 

Till at length a small green feather 
From the earth shot slowly upward, 
Then another and another. 

And before the Summer ended ^^^ 

Stood the maize in all its beauty. 
With its shining robes about it. 
And its long, soft, yellow tresses ; 
And in rapture Hiawatha 

Cried aloud, '' It is Mondamin ! 270 

Yes, the friend of man, Mondamin ! '' 

Then he called to old ^N'okomis 
And lagoo, the great boaster. 
Showed them where the maize was growing, 
Told them of his wondrous vision, 



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58 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Of his wrestliiig and his triumph, 
Of this new gift to the nations, 
Which should be their food for ever. 

And still later, when the Autumn 
Changed the long, green leaves to yellow, ^so 

And the soft and juicy kernels 
Grew like wampum hard and yellow. 
Then the ripened ears he gathered. 
Stripped the withered husks from off them, 
As he once had stripped the wrestler, 285 

Gave the first Feast of Mondamin, 
And made known unto the people 
This new gift of the Great Spirit. 



Hiawatha's feiends 59 



HIAWATHA'S FRIEXDS. 

VI. 

Two good friends had Hiawatha, 

Singled out from all the others, 

Bound to him in closest union, 

And to whom he gave the right hand 

Of his heart, in joy and sorrow ; 

Chibiabos, the musician. 

And the very strong man, Kwasind. 

Straight between them ran the pathway, 
Xever ^tcw the grass upon it ; 
Singing birds, that utter falsehoods, 
Story-tellers, mischief-makers. 
Found no eager ear to listen. 
Could not breed ill-will between them^ 
For they kept each other's counsel, 
Spake with naked hearts together, 
Pondering much and much contriving 
How the tribes of men might prosper. 

Most beloved by Hiawatha 
Was the gentle Chibiabos, 

He the best of all musicians, ^^ 

He the sweetest of all singers. 
Beautiful and childlike was he. 
Brave as man is, soft as woman. 
Pliant as a wand of willow. 
Stately as a deer with antlers. 

When he sang, the village listened ; 
All the warriors gathered round him. 



15 



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60 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

All the women came to hear him ; 
I^ow he stirred their souls to passion, 
l^ow he melted them to pity. 

From the hollow reeds he fashioned 
Flutes so musical and mellow, 
That the brook, the Sebowisha, 
Ceased to murmur in the woodland. 
That the w^ood-birds ceased from singing, 
And the squirrel, Adjidaumo, 
Ceased his chatter in the oak-tree. 
And the rabbit, the Wabasso, 
Sat upright to look and listen. 

Yes, the brook, the Sebowisha, 
Pausing, said, '^ O Chibiabos, 
Teach my waves to flow in music. 
Softly as your words in singing ! " 

Yes, the blue-bird, the Owaissa, 
Envious, said, '^ O Chibiabos, ^^ 

Teach me tones as wild and wayward, 
Teach me songs as full of frenzy ! " 

Yes, the Opechee, the robin, 
Joyous, said, " O Chibiabos, 

Teach me tones as sweet and tender, ^^ 

Teach me songs as full of gladness ! " 

And the whippoorwill, Wawonaissa, 
Sobbing, said, '' O Chibiabos, 
Teach me tones as melancholy. 
Teach me songs as full of sadness ! " ^^ 

All the many sounds of nature 
Borrowed sweetness from his singing ; 
All the hearts of men were softened 



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By the pathos of his music ; 

For he sang of peace and freedom, 

Sang of beauty, love, and longing ; 

Sang of death, and life undying 

In the Islands of the Blessed, 

In the kingdom of Ponemah, 

In the land of the Hereafter. ^^ 

Very dear to Hiawatha 
Was the gentle Chibiabos, 
He the best of all musicians, 
He the sweetest of all singers ; 
For his gentleness he loved him. 
And the magic of his singing. 

Dear, too, unto Hiawatha 
AVas the very strong man, Kwasind, 
He the strongest of all mortals, 
He the mightiest among many ; 
For his very strength he loved him. 
For his strength allied to goodness. 

Idle in his youth was Kwasind, 
Very listless, dull, and dreamy, 
IN'ever played with other children, 
I^ever fished and never hunted, 
'Not like other children was he; 
But they saw that much he fasted, 
Much his Manito entreated, 
Much besought his Guardian Spirit. 

" Lazy Kwasind ! " said his mother, 
" In my work you never help me ! 
In the Summer you are roaming 
Idly in the fields and forests ; 



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62 THE CEAN"E CLASSICS 

In the Winter you are cowering 
O'er the firebrands in the wigwam ! 
In the coldest days of Winter 
I must break the ice for fishing ; 
With my nets you never help me ! 
At the door my nets are hanging, 
Dripping, freezing with the water ; 
Go and wring them, Yenadizze ! 
Go and dry them in the sunshine ! " 

Slowly, from the ashes, Kwasind 
Rose, but made no angry answer ; 
From the lodge went forth in silence, 
Took the nets, that hung together, 
Dripping, freezing at the doorway, 
Like a wisp of straw he wrung them, 
Like a wisp of straw he broke them. 
Could not wring them without breaking. 
Such the strength was in his fingers. 

" Lazy Kwasind ! '' said his father, 
'^ In the hunt you never helped me ; 
Every bow you touch is broken. 
Snapped asunder every arrow ; 
Yet come with me to the forest, 
You shall bring the hunting homeward.' 

Down a narrow pass they wandered, 
Where a brooklet led them onward, 
Where the' trail of deer and bison 
Marked the soft mud on the margin. 
Till they found all further passage 
Shut against them, barred securely 
By the trunks of trees uprooted, 



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FEIEN^DS 63 

Lying lengthwise, lying crosswise, 
And forbidding further passage. 

^' We must go back," said the old man, 
" O'er these logs we cannot clamber ; 
Xot a woodchuck could get through them, 
^ot a squirrel clamber o'er them ! " 
And straightway his pipe he lighted. 
And sat down to smoke and ponder. 
But before his pipe was finished, 
Lo ! the path was cleared before him ; 
All the trunks had Kwasind lifted, 
To the right hand, to the left hand. 
Shot the pine-trees swift as arrows, 
Hurled the cedars light as lances. 

^' Lazy Kwasind ! " said the young men. 
As they sported in the meadow ; 
" ^^^ly stand idly looking at us. 
Leaning on the rock behind you ? 
Come and wrestle with the others. 
Let us pitch the quoit together ! " ^*° 

Lazy Kwasind made no answer, 
To their challenge made no answer, 
Only rose, and, slowly turning. 
Seized the huge rock in his fingers, 
Tore it from its deep foundation, ^^^ 

Poised it in the air a moment. 
Pitched it sheer into the river, 
Sheer into the swift Pauwating, 
Where it still is seen in Summer. 

Once as down that foaming river, 
Down the rapids of Pauwating, 



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64 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Kwasind sailed witli his companions, 

In the streai:S he saw a beaver, 

Saw Ahmeek, the King of Beavers, 

Struggling with the rnshing currents, ^^^ 

Rising, sinking in the water. 

Without speaking, without pausing, 
Kwasind leaped into the river, 
Plunged beneath the bubbling surface, 
Through the whirlpools chased the beaver, ^^^ 

Followed him among the islands. 
Stayed so long beneath the water. 
That his terrified companions 
Cried, ^^Alas! good-bye to Kwasind! 
We shall never more see Kwasind!" ^^^ 

But he reappeared triumphant. 
And upon his shining shoulders 
Brought the beaver, dead and dripping. 
Brought the King of all the Beavers. 

And these two, as I have told you, ^^^ 

Were the friends of Hiawatha, 
Chibiabos, the musician. 
And the very strong man, Kwasind. 
Long they lived in peace together, 
Spake with naked hearts together, ^^^ 

Pondering much and much contriving 
How the tribes of men might prosper. 



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65 



HIAWATHA'S SAILING. 

VII. 

" Give me of your bark, Bircli-Tree ! 
Of your yellow bark, O Bircli-Tree ! 
Growing by the rusliins^ river, 
Tall and stately in the valley ! 
I a light canoe will build me. 
Build a swift Cheemaun for sailing, 
That shall float upon the river, 
Like a yellow leaf in Autumn, 
Like a yellow water-lily ! 

" Lay aside your cloak, O Birch-Tree ! 
Lay aside your white-skin wrapper. 
For the Summer-time is coming. 
And the sun is warm in heaven, 
And you need no white-skin wrapper ! " . 

Thus aloud cried Hiawatha ^^ 

In the solitary forest. 
By the rushing Taquamenaw, 
When the birds w^ere singing gayly. 
In the Moon of Leaves were singing. 
And the sun from sleep awaking, ^^ 

Started up and said, " Behold me ! 
Geezis, the great Sun, behold me ! " 

And the tree with all its branches 
Rustled in the breeze of morning. 
Saying, with a sigh of patience, ^' 

'' Take my cloak, O Hiawatha ! '' 

With his knife the tree he girdled; 



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66 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Just beneath its lowest branclies, 

Just above the roots, be cut it, 

Till the sap came oozing outward ; ^° 

Down the trunk, from top to bottom, 

Sheer he cleft the bark asunder. 

With a wooden wedge he raised it, 

Stripped it from the trunk unbroken. 

" Give me of your boughs, O Cedar ! 
Of your strong and pliant branches. 
My canoe to make more steady. 
Make more strong and firm beneath me ! '' 

Through the summit of the Cedar 
Went a sound, a cry of horror. 
Went a murmur of resistance; 
But it whispered, bending downward, 
" Take my boughs, O Hiawatha ! '' 

Down he hewed the boughs of cedar, 
Shaped them straightway to a framework, 
Like two bows he formed and shaped them, 
Like two bended bows together. 

" Give me of your roots, O Tamarack ! 
Of your fibrous roots, O Larch-Tree ! 
My canoe to bind together. 
So to bind the ends together 
That the water may not enter. 
That the river may not wet me ! " 

And the Larch, with all its fibres. 
Shivered in the air of morning, ^^ 

Touched his forehead with its tassels, 
Said, with one long sigh of sorrow, 
" Take them all, O Hiawatha ! '' 



4B 



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67 



60 



From the earth he tore the fibres, 
Tore the tough roots of the Larch-Tree, 
Closely sewed the bark together. 
Bound it closely to the framework. 

" Give me of your balm, O Fir-Tree ! 
Of your balsam and your resin. 
So to close the seams together ^^ 

That the w^ater may not enter. 
That the river may not wet me ! " 

And the Fir-Tree, tall and sombre. 
Sobbed through all its robes of darkness, 
Rattled like a shore with pebbles, '^^ 

Answered wailing, answered weeping, 
" Take my balm, O Hiawatha ! " 

And he took the tears of balsam, 
Took the resin of the Fir-Tree, 
Smeared therewith each seam and fissure, '^^ 

Made each crevice safe from water. 

" Give me of your quills, O Hedgehog ! 
All your quills, O Kagh, the Hedgehog ! 
I will make a necklace of them. 
Make a girdle for my beauty, 
And two stars to deck her bosom ! " 

From a hollow tree the Hedgehog 
With his sleepy eyes looked at him. 
Shot his shining quills, like arrows, 
Saying, with a drowsy murmur. 
Through the tangle of his whiskers, 
" Take my quills, O Hiawatha ! '' 

From the ground the quills he gathered, 
All the little shining arrows, 



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68 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

Stained tliem red and blue and yellow, 
With the juice of roots and berries; 
Into .his canoe he wrought them, 
Round its waist a shining girdle. 
Round its bows a gleaming necklace. 
On its breast two stars resplendent. 

Thus the Birch Canoe was builded 
In the valley by the river, 
In the bosom of the forest ; 
And the forest's life was in it. 
All its mystery and its magic, 
All the lightness of the birch-tree. 
All the toughness of the cedar. 
All the larch's supple sinews ; 
And it floated on the river 
Like a yellow leaf in Autumn, 
Like a yellow water-lily. 

Paddles none had Hiawatha, 
Paddles none he had or needed. 
For his thoughts as paddles served him. 
And his wishes served to guide him ; ^ 

Swift or slow at will he glided. 
Veered to right or left at pleasure. 

Then he called aloud to Kwasind, 
To his friend, the strong man, Kwasind, 
Saying, " Help me clear this river ^ 

Of its sunken logs and sand-bars." 

Straight into the river Kwasind 
Plunged as if he were an otter. 
Dived as if he were a beaver. 
Stood up to his waist in water, ^^^ 



69 



To his arm-pits in the river, 
Swam and shouted in the river, 
Tugged at sunken logs and branches, 
With his hands he scooped the sand-bars, 
With his feet the ooze and tangle. 

And thus sailed my Hiawatha 
Down the rushing Taquamenaw, 
Sailed through all its bends and windings. 
Sailed through all its deeps and shallows. 
While his friend, the strong man, Kwasind, 
Swam the deeps, the shallows waded. 

Up and down the river went they, 
In and out among its islands, 
Cleared its bed of root and sand-bar. 
Dragged the dead trees from its channel, 
Made its passage safe and certain. 
Made a pathway for the people, 
From its springs among the mountains, 
To the waters of Pauwating, 
To the bay of Taquamenaw. 



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70 THE CRANE CLASSICS 



HIAWATHA'S FISHmG. 

VIII. 

Forth upon the Gitche Gumee, 
On the shining Big-Sea-Water, 
With his fishing-line of cedar, 
Of the twisted bark of cedar. 
Forth to catch the sturgeon ISTahma, 
Mishe-lSTahma, King of Fishes, 
In his birch-canoe exulting 
All alone went Hiawatha. 

Through the clear, transparent water 
He could see the fishes swimming 
Far down in the depths below him ; 
See the yellow perch, the Sahwa, 
Like a sunbeam in the water. 
See the Shawgashee, the craw-fish. 
Like a spider on the bottom. 
On the white and sandy bottom. 

At the stern sat Hiawatha, 
With his fishing-line of cedar ; 
In his plumes the breeze of morning 
Played as in the hemlock branches ; 
On the bows, with tail erected. 
Sat the squirrel, Adjidaumo; 
In his fur the breeze of morning 
Played as in the prairie grasses. 

On the white sand of the bottom ^' 

Lay the monster Mishe-^ahma, 
Lay the sturgeon, King of Fishes ; 



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20 



30 



40 



71 



Through his gills he breathed the water, 
With his fins he fanned and winnowed, 
With his tail he swept the sand-floor. 

There he lay in all his armor ; 
On each side a shield to guard him. 
Plates of bone upon his forehead, 
Down his sides and back and shoulders 
Plates of bone with spines projecting ! ^^ 

Painted was he with his war paints. 
Stripes of yellow, red, and azure, 
Spots of brown and spots of sable ; 
And he lay there on the bottom, 
Panning with his fins of purple. 
As above him Hiawatha 
In his birch-canoe came sailing, 
With his fishing-line of cedar. 

" Take my bait ! " cried Hiawatha, 
Down into the depths beneath him, 
" Take my bait, O Sturgeon, !N'ahma ! 
Come up from below the water. 
Let us see which is the stronger ! " 
And he dropped his line of cedar 
Through the clear, transparent water, 
Waited vainly for an answer, 
Long sat waiting for an answer, 
And repeating loud and louder, 
" Take my bait, O King of Fishes ! " 

Quiet lay the sturgeon, I^ahma, 
Panning slowly in the water, 
Looking up at Hiawatha, 
Listening to his call and clamor, 



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72 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

His unnecessary tumult, 

Till he wearied of the shouting; 

And he said to the Kenozha, 

To the pike, the Maskenozha, 

" Take the bait of this rude fellow, 

Break the line of Hiawatha ! " 

In his fingers Hiawatha 
Felt the loose line jerk and tighten; 
As he drew it in, it tugged so 
That the birch-canoe stood endwise, 
Like a birch log in the water. 
With the squirrel, Adjidaumo, 
Perched and frisking on the summit. 

Full of scorn was Hiawatha 
When he saw the fish rise upward, 
Saw the pike, the Maskenozha, 
Coming nearer, nearer to him. 
And he shouted through the water, 
'^ Esa ! esa ! Shame upon you ! 
You are but the pike, Kenozha, 
You are not the fish I wanted. 
You are not the King of Fishes ! " 

Reeling downward to the bottom 
Sank the pike in great confusion. 
And the mighty sturgeon, I^ahma, 
Said to Ugudwash, the sun-fish, 
" Take the bait of this great boaster, 
Break the line of Hiawatha ! " 

Slowly upward, wavering, gleaming 
Like a white moon in the water. 
Rose the Ugudwash, the sun-fish. 



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65 



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85 



73 



Seized the line of Hiawatha, ^^ 

Swung with all his w^eight upon it, 

Made a whirlpool in the water, 

Whirled the birch-canoe in circles, 

Round and round in gurgling eddies. 

Till the circles in the water ^" 

Reached the far-off sandy beaches, 

Till the water-flags and rushes 

^NTodded on the distant margins. 



100 



But wdien Hiawatha saw him 
Slowly rising through the water, 
Lifting his great disc of whiteness. 
Loud he shouted in derision, 
'^ Esa ! esa ! Shame upon you ! 
You are Ugudwash, the sun-fish. 
You are not the fish I wanted, ^^^ 

You are not the King of Fishes ! " 

Wavering downward, white and ghastly. 
Sank the U2:udwash, the sun-fish. 
And again the sturgeon, Nahma, 
Heard the shout of Hiawatha, ^^^ 

Heard his challenge of defiance. 
The unnecessary tumult, 
Ringing far across the water. 

From the white sand of the bottom 
Up he rose with angry gesture, ^^^ 

Quivering in each nerve and fibre. 
Clashing all his plates of armor. 
Gleaming bright with all his war-paint ; 
In his wrath he darted upward. 
Flashing leaped into the sunshine, ^^^ 



74 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Opened his great jaws, and swallowed 
Both canoe and Hiawatha. 

Down into that darksome cavern 
Plunged the headlong Hiawatha, 
As a log on some black river 
Shoots and plunges down the rapids. 
Found himself in utter darkness, 
Groped about in helpless wonder, 
Till he felt a great heart beating. 
Throbbing in that utter darkness. 

And he smote it in his anger. 
With his fist, the heart of N'ahma, 
Felt the mighty King of Fishes 
Shudder through each nerve and fibre. 
Heard the water gurgle round him 
As he leaped and staggered through it. 
Sick at heart, and faint and weary. 

Crosswise then did Hiawatha 
Drag his birch-canoe for safety, 
Lest from out the jaws of I^ahma, 
In the turmoil and confusion. 
Forth he might be hurled and perish. 
And the squirrel, Adjidaumo, 
Frisked and chattered very gayly. 
Toiled and tugged with Hiawatha 
Till the labor was completed. 

Then said Hiawatha to him, 
" O my little friend, the squirrel. 
Bravely have you toiled to help me ; 
Take the thanks of Hiawatha, 
And the name which now he gives you ; 



Hiawatha's fishing 75 

For hereafter and for ever 
Bojs shall call you Adjidaumo, 
Tail-in-air the boys shall call yon ! " 

And again the sturgeon, IvTahma, *55 

Gasped and quivered in the water, 
Then was still, and drifted landward 
Till he grated on the pebbles. 
Till the listening Hiawatha 

Heard him grate upon the margin, ^^^ 

Felt him strand upon the pebbles. 
Knew that !N'ahma, King of Fishes, 
Lay there dead upon the margin. 

Then he heard a clang and flapping. 
As of many wings assembling, ^^^ 

Heard a screaming and confusion. 
As of birds of prey contending. 
Saw a gleam of light above him. 
Shining through the ribs of ]N'ahma, 
Saw the glittering eyes of sea-gulls, *^^ 

Of Kayoshk, the sea-gulls, peering. 
Gazing at him through the opening, 
Heard them saying to each other, 
" 'T is our brother, Hiawatha ! " 

And he shouted from below them, *'^*^ 

Cried exulting from the caverns : 
" O ye sea-gulls ! O my brothers ! 
I have slain the sturgeon, ^N'ahma ; 
Make the rifts a little larger. 

With your claws the openings widen, ^^^ 

Set me free from this dark prison. 
And henceforward and for ever 



76 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

Men shall speak of your achievements, 
Calling you Kayoshk, the sea-gulls, 
Yes, Kayoshk, the 'Noble Scratchers ! " 

And the wild and clamorous sea-gulls 
Toiled with beak and claws together. 
Made the rifts and openings wider 
In the mighty ribs of ISTahma, 
And from peril and from prison. 
From the body of the sturgeon, 
From the peril of the water. 
Was released my Hiawatha. 

He was standing near his wigwam. 
On the margin of the water. 
And he called to old I^okomis, 
Called and beckoned to ^okomis, 
Pointed to the sturgeon, l^ahma. 
Lying lifeless on the pebbles. 
With the sea-gulls feeding on him. ' 

^' I have slain the Mishe-lSTahma, 
Slain the King of Fishes ! " said he ; 
'^ Look ! the sea-gulls feed upon him. 
Yes, my friends Kayoshk, the sea-gulls; 
Drive them not away, !N^okomis, 
They have saved me from great peril 
In the body of the sturgeon ; 
Wait until their meal is ended, 
Till their craws are full with feasting. 
Till they homeward fly, at sunset. 
To their nests among the marshes ; 
Then bring all your pots and kettles. 
And make oil for us in Winter, '^ 



185 



195 



205 



210 



Hiawatha's fishiK'g 77 

And she waited till the sun set. 



Till the pallid moon, the night-snn, 215 

Rose above the tranquil water, 

Till Kayoshk, the sated sea-gulls, 

From their banquet rose with clamor, 

And across the fiery sunset 

Winged their way to far-off islands, 220 

To their nests among the rushes. 

To his sleep went Hiawatha, 
And ISTokomis to her labor, 
Toiling patient in the moonlight. 
Till the sun and moon changed places, ^^^ 

Till the sky was red with sunrise. 
And Kayoshk, the hungry sea-gulls, 
Came back from the reedy islands. 
Clamorous for their morning banquet. 

Three whole days and nights alternate ^^^ 

Old ^okomis and the sea-gulls 
Stripped the oily flesh of Xahma, 
Till the waves washed through the rib-bones. 
Till the sea-gulls came no longer. 
And upon the sands lay nothing 2^' 

But the skeleton of I^ahma. 



78 THE CRANE CLASSICS 



HIAWATHA AND THE PEAEL-FEATHEK. 

IX. 

On tlie shores of Gitche Gumee, 

Of the shining Big-Sea-Water, 

Stood ]^okomis, the old woman, 

Pointing with her finger westward, 

O^er the water pointing westward, ° 

To the purple clouds of sunset. 

Fiercely the red sun descending 
Burned his way along the heavens. 
Set the sky on fire behind him, 
As war-parties, when retreating, ^^ 

Burn the prairies on their war-trail; 
And the moon, the night-sun, eastward, 
Suddenly starting from his ambush. 
Followed fast those bloody footprints. 
Followed in that fiery war-trail, ^^ 

With its glare upon his features. 

And l^okomis, the old woman. 
Pointing with her finger westward, ' 
Spake these words to Hiawatha: 
" Yonder dwells the great Pearl-Feather, ^^ 

Megissogwon, the Magician, 
Manito of Wealth and Wampum, 
Guarded by his fiery serpents, 
Guarded by the black pitch-water. 
You can see his fiery serpents, ^' 

The Kenabeek, the great serpents. 
Coiling, playing in the water ; 



HIAWATHA AN'D THE PEAEL-FEATHER 79 

You can see tlie black pitcli-water 
Stretching far away beyond tliem, 
To the purple clouds of sunset ! ^^ 

" He it was who slew my father, 
By his wicked wiles and cunning, 
When he from the moon descended, 
When he came on earth to seek me. 
He, the mightiest of Magicians, ^^ 

Sends the fever from the marshes. 
Sends the pestilential vapors, 
Sends the poisonous exhalations, 
Sends the white fog from the fen-lands. 
Sends disease and death among us ! ^^ 

" Take your bow, O Hiawatha, 
Take your arrows, jasper-headed. 
Take your war-club, Puggawaugun, 
And your mittens, Minjekahwun, 
And your birch-canoe for sailing, '^^ 

And the oil of Mishe-jN'ahma, 
So to smear its sides, that swiftly 
You may pass the black pitch-water ; 
Slay this merciless magician. 

Save the people from the fever ^^ 

That he breathes across the fen-lands. 
And avenge my father's murder ! " 

Straightway then my Hiawatha 
Armed himself with all his war-gear. 
Launched his birch-canoe for sailing; 
With his palm its sides he patted. 
Said with glee, " Cheemaun, my darling, 
O my Birch-Canoe ! leap forward, 



6S 



65 



70 



80 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Where joii see the fiery serpents, 

Wliere you see the black pitch-water ! " ^^ 

Forward leaped Cheemaiin exulting, 
And the noble Hiawatha 
Sang his war-song wild and woful, 
And above him the war-eagle, 
The Keneu, the great war-eagle, 
Master of all fowls with feathers, 
Screamed and hurtled through the heavens. 

Soon he reached the fiery serpents. 
The Kenabeek, the great serpents, 
Lying huge upon the water. 
Sparkling, rippling in the water. 
Lying coiled across the passage, 
With their blazing crests uplifted. 
Breathing fiery fogs and vapors, 
. So that none could pass beyond them. '^^ 

But the fearless Hiawatha 
* Cried aloud, and spake in this wise : 
" Let me pass my way, Kenabeek, 
Let me go upon my journey ! " 
And they answered, hissing fiercely. 
With their fiery breath made answer : 
" Back, go back ! O Shaugodaya ! 
Back to old ^Nokomis, Faint-heart ! '^ 

Then the angry Hiawatha 
Eaised his mighty bow of ash-tree. 
Seized his arrows, jasper-headed. 
Shot them fast among the serpents ; 
Every twanging of the bow-string 
Was a war-cry and a death-cry, 



80 



85 



HIAWATHA AND THE PEARL-FEATHEE 81 

Every whizzing of an arrow ®^ 

Was a death-song of Kenabeek. 

Weltering in the bloody water, 
Dead lay all the fiery serpents, 
And among them Hiawatha 

Harmless sailed, and cried exnlting : ^^ 

'^ Onward, O Cheemaun, my darling ! 
Onward to the black pitch-water ! '' 

Then he took the oil of ^ahma. 
And the bows and sides anointed, 
Smeared them well with oil, that swiftly ^^^ 

He might pass the black pitch-water. 

All night long he sailed upon it, 
Sailed upon that sluggish water. 
Covered with its mould of ages, 
Black with rotting water-rushes, ^^' 

Rank with Hags and leaves of lilies. 
Stagnant, lifeless, dreary, dismal. 
Lighted by the shimmering moonlight. 
And by will-o'-the-wisps illumined. 
Fires by ghosts of dead men kindled, 
In their weary night-encampments. 

All the air was white with moonlight, 
All the water black with shadow, 
And around him the Suggema, 
The mosquitoes, sang their war-song, 
And the fire-flies, Wah-wah-taysee, 
Waved their torches to mislead him ; 
And the bull-frog, the Dahinda, 
Thrust his head into the moonlight, 
Fixed his yellow eyes upon him, 



110 



116 



120 



125 



82 THE CRAiq^E CLASSICS 

Sobbed and sank beneath the surface ; 
And anon a thousand whistles, 
Answered over all the fen-lands, 
And the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
Far off on the reedy margin, 
Heralded the heroes coming. 

Westward thus fared Hiawatha, 
Toward the realm of Megissogwon, 
Toward the land of the Pearl-Feather, 
Till the level moon stared at him, ^^° 

In his face stared pale and haggard. 
Till the sun was hot behind him. 
Till it burned upon his shoulders. 
And before him on the upland 

He could see the Shining Wigwam ^^^ 

Of the Manito of Wampum, 
Of the mightiest of Magicians. 

Then once more Cheemaun he patted. 
To his birch-canoe said, " Onward ! " 
And it stirred in all its fibres, ^^^ 

And with one great bound of triumph 
Leaped across the water-lilies, 
Leaped through tangled flags and rushes. 
And upon the beach beyond them 
Dry-shod landed Hiawatha. ^^^ 

Straight he took his bow of ash-tree. 
One end on the sand he rested. 
With his knee he pressed the middle, 
Stretched the faithful bow-string tighter. 
Took an arrow, jasper-headed, ^^^ 

Shot it at the Shining Wigwam, 



HIAWATHA AND THE PEARL-FEATHER 83 

Sent it singing as a herald, 

As a bearer of his message, 

Of his challenge loud and lofty: 

" Come forth from your lodge, Pearl-Feather ! ^'^^ 

Hiawatha waits your coming ! " 

Straightway from the Shining Wigwam 
Came the mighty Megissog^von, 
Tall of stature, broad of shoulder, 
Dark and terrible in aspect, ^^^ 

Clad from head to foot in wampum, 
Armed with all his warlike weapons. 
Painted like the sky of morning, 
Streaked with crimson, blue and yellow. 
Crested with great eagle-feathers, ^^' 

Streaming upward, streaming outward. 

" Well I know you, Hiawatha ! '' 
Cried he in a voice of thunder, 
In a tone of loud derision. 

" Hasten back, Shaugodaya ! i^o 

Hasten back among the women. 
Back to old lN"okomis, Faint-heart ! 
I will slay you as you stand there. 
As of old I slew her father ! '^ 

But my Hiawatha answered, ^ ^"^^ 

IsTothing daunted, fearing nothing : 
^^ Big words do not smite like war-clubs. 
Boastful breath is not a bow-string, 
Taunts are not so sharp as arrows, 
Deeds are better things that words are, ^^° 

Actions mightier than boastings ! '' 

Then began the greatest battle 



84 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

That the sun had ever looked on, 

That the war-birds ever v^itnessed. 

All a Summer's day it lasted, ^^^ 

From the sunrise to the sunset; 

For the shafts of Hiawatha 

Harmless hit the shirt of wampum, 

Harmless fell the blows he dealt it 

With his mittens, MinjekahAvun, ^^^ 

Harmless fell the heavy war-club ; 

It could dash the rocks asunder. 

But it could not break the meshes 

Of that magic shirt of wampum. 

Till at sunset Hiawatha, ^^^ 

Leaning on his bow of ash-tree. 
Wounded, weary, and desponding. 
With his mighty war-club broken, 
With his mittens torn and tattered. 
And three useless arrows only, 200 

Paused to rest beneath a pine-tree, 
From whose branches trailed the mosses. 
And whose trunk was coated over 
With the Dead-man's Moccason-leather, 
With the fungus white and yellow. ^^^ 

Suddenly from the boughs above him 
Sang the Mama, the woodpecker : 
"Aim your arrows, Hiawatha, 
At the head of Megrssogwon, 
Strike the tuft of hair upon it. 
At their roots the long black tresses, 
There alone can he be wounded ! " 

Winged with feathers, tipped with jasper, 



210 



HIAWATHA AIsTD THE PEAEL-PEATHER 85 



215 



220 



225 



Swift flew Hiawatha^s arrow, 
Just as Megis30gwoii, stooping, 
Raised a heavy stone to throw it. 
Full upon the crown it struck him, 
At the roots of his long tresses, 
And he reeled and staggered forward 
Plunging like a wounded bison, 
Yes, like Pezhekee, the bison. 
When the snow is on the prairie. 
Swifter flew the second arrow, 
In the pathway of the other. 
Piercing deeper than the other, 
Wounding sorer than the other ; 
And the knees of Megissogwon 
Shook like windy reeds beneath him, 

Bent and trembled like the rushes. 

But the third and latest arrow ^^^ 

Swiftest flew, and wounded sorest. 

And the mighty Megissogwon 

Saw the fiery eyes of Pauguk, 

Saw the eyes of death glare at him. 

Heard his voice call in the darkness ; ^^^ 

At the feet of Hiawatha 

Lifeless lay the great Pearl-Feather, 

Lay the mightiest of Magicians. 
Then the grateful Hiawatha 

Called the Mama, the woodpecker. 

From his perch among the branches 

Of the melancholy pine-tree, 

And, in honor of his service. 

Stained with blood the tuft of feathers 



240 



86 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

On the little head of Mama ; 24b 

Even to this day he wears it, 
Wears the tuft of crimson feathers, 
As a symbol of his service. 

Then he stripped the shirt of wampum 
From the back of Megissogwon, ^^^ 

As a trophy of the battle. 
As a signal of his conquest. 
On the shore he left the body, 
Half on land and half in water. 
In the sand his feet were buried, ^^^ 

And his face was in the water. 
And above him, wheeled and clamored 
The Keneu, the great war-eagle. 
Sailing round in narrower circles. 
Hovering nearer, nearer, nearer. ^^^ 

From the wigwam Hiawatha 
Bore the wealth of Megissogwon, 
All his wealth of skins and wampum, 
Furs of bison and of beaver. 

Furs of sable and of ermine, ^^^ 

Wampum belts and strings and pouches. 
Quivers wrought with beads of wampum. 
Filled with arrows, silver-headed. 

Homeward then he sailed exulting. 
Homeward through the black pitch-water, ^''^ 

Homeward through the weltering serpents, 
With the trophies of the battle. 
With a shout and song of triumph. 

On the shore stood old I^okomis, 
On the shore stood Chibiabos, ^^' 



HIAWATHA AND THE PEARL-FEATHEB 87 

And the very strong man, Kwasind, 

Waiting for the hero's coming, 

Listening to his song of triumph. 

And the people of the village 

Welcomed him with songs and dances, ^^^ 

Made a joyous feast, and shouted: 

" Honor be to Hiawatha ! 

He has slain the great Pearl-Feather, 

Slain the mightiest of Magicians, 

Him, who sent the fiery fever, 285 

Sent the white fog from the fen-lands. 

Sent disease and death among us ! '' 

Ever dear to Hiawatha 
Was the memory of Mama ! 

And in token of his friendship, ^^^ 

As a mark of his remembrance, 
He adorned and decked his pipe-stem 
With the crimson tuft of feathers, 
With the blood-red crest of Mama. 
But the wealth of Megissogwon, 
All the trophies of the battle. 
He divided with his people. 
Shared it equally among them. 



295 



88 THE GBANE CLASSICS 



HIAWATHA'S WOOI]^G. 

X. 

" As unto the bow the cord is, 

So unto the man is woman, 

Though she bends him, she obeys him. 

Though she draws him, yet she follows, 

Useless each without the other ! " 

Thus the youthful Hiawatha 
Said within himself and pondered, 
Much perplexed by various feelings, 
Listless, longing, hoping, fearing. 
Dreaming still of Minnehaha, 
Of the lovely Laughing Water, 
In the land of the Dacotahs. 

" Wed a maiden of your people," 
Warning said the old I^okomis ; 
" Go not eastward, go not westward, 
For a stranger, whom we know not ! 
Like a fire upon the hearth-stone 
Is a neighbor's homely daughter. 
Like the starlight or the moonlight 
Is the handsomest of strangers ! " 

Thus dissuading spake I^okomis, 
And my Hiawatha answered 
Only this : '' Dear old Nokomis, 
Very pleasant is the firelight. 
But I like the starlight better. 
Better do I like the moonlight ! " 

Gravely then said old E'okomis : 



Hiawatha's wooiitg 89 

" Bring not here an idle maiden, 

Bring not here a useless woman, 

Hands unskilful, feet unwilling ; ^^ 

Bring a wife with nimble fingers. 

Heart and hand that move together. 

Feet that run on willing errands ! '' 

Smiling answered Hiawatha: 
" In the land of the Dacotahs ^^. 

Lives the Arrow-maker's daughter, 
Minnehaha, Laughing Water, 
Handsomest of all the women. 
I will bring her to your wig^vam, 
She shall run upon your errands, *^ 

Be your starlight, moonlight, firelight, 
Be the sunlight of my people ! " 

Still dissuading said Xokomis : 
" Bring not to my lodge a stranger 
From the land of the Dacotahs ! *^ 

Very fierce are the Dacotahs, 
Often is there war between us. 
There are feuds yet unforgotten. 
Wounds that ache and still may open ! " 

Laughing answered Hiawatha : ^^ 

" For that reason, if no other. 
Would I wed the fair Dacotah, 
That our tribes might be united. 
That old feuds might be forgotten, 
And old wounds he healed for ever ! " ^^ 

Thus departed Hiawatha 
To the land of the Dacotahs, 
To the land of handsome women ; 



90 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Striding over moor and meadow, 
Through interminable forests, 
Through uninterrupted silence. 

With his moccasons of magic. 
At each stride a mile he measured ; 
Yet the way seemed long before him. 
And his heart outran his footsteps ; 
And he journeyed without resting. 
Till he heard the cataract's thunder, 
Heard the Falls of Minnehaha 
Calling to him through the silence. 
" Pleasant is the sound ! " he murmured, 
" Pleasant is the voice that calls me ! " 

On the outskirts of the forest, 
'Twixt the shadow and the sunshine. 
Herds of fallow deer were feeding. 
But they saw not Hiawatha ; 
To his bow he whispered, " Pail not ! " 
To his arrow whispered, " Swerve not ! '' 
Sent it singing on its errand. 
To the red heart of the roebuck ; 
Threw the deer across his shoulder. 
And sped forward without pausing. 

At the doorway of his wigwam 
Sat the ancient Arrow-maker, 
In the land of the Dacotahs, 
Making arrow-heads of jasper, 
Arrow-heads of chalcedony. 
At his side, in all her beauty, 
Sat the lovely Minnehaha, 
Sat his daughter, Laughing Water, 



WOOING 91 

Plaiting mats of flags and rushes ; ^^ 

Of the past the old man's thoughts were, 
And the maiden's of the future. 

He was thinking, as he sat there, 
Of the days when with such arrows 
He had struck the deer and bison, ^^ 

On the Muskoday, the meadow; 
Shot the wild-goose, flying southward, 
On the wing, the clamorous Wawa ; 
Thinking of the great war-parties, 
How they came to buy his arrows, ^^^ 

Could not fight without his arrows. 
Ah, no more such noble warriors 
Could be found on earth as they were ! 
"Now the men were all like women, 
Only used their tongues for weapons ! ^^* 

She was thinking of a hunter, 
From another tribe and country. 
Young and tall and very handsome. 
Who one morning, in the Sj^ring-time, 
Came to buy her father's arrows, ^^^ 

Sat and rested in the wigwam. 
Lingered long about the doorway. 
Looking back as he departed. 
She had heard her father praise him. 
Praise his courage and his wisdom ; ^^^ 

Would he come again for arrows 
To the Falls of Minnehaha ? 
On the mat her hands lay idle. 
And her eyes were very dreamy. 

Through their thoughts they heard a footstep, ^^^ 



92 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

I 

Heard a rustling in the branclies, • 

And with glowing cheek and forehead, 

With the deer upon his shoulders, 

Suddenly from out the woodlands 

Hiawatha stood before them. ^^^ 

Straight the ancient Arrow-maker 
Looked up gravely from his labor, 
Laid aside the unfinished arrow. 
Bade him enter at the doorway. 
Saying, as he rose to meet him, ^^^ 

" Hiawatha, you are welcome ! ^' 

At the feet of Laughing Water 
Hiawatha laid his burden, 
Threw the red deer from his shoulders ; 
And the maiden looked up at him, ^^^ 

Looked up from her mat of rushes. 
Said with gentle look and accent, 
'' You are welcome, Hiawatha ! " 

Very spacious was the wigAvam, 
Made of deer-skin dressed and whitened, ^^° 

With the Gods of the Dacotahs 
Drawn and painted on its curtains. 
And so tall the doorway, hardly 
Hiawatha stooped to enter. 

Hardly touched his eagle-feathers • ^*^ 

As he entered at the doorway. 

Then uprose the Laughing Water, 
From the ground fair Minnehaha, 
Laid aside her mat unfinished. 
Brought forth food and set before them, '^^^ 

Water brought them from the brooklet. 



165 



93 



Gave them food in earthen vessels, 

Gave them drink in bowls of bass-wood, 

Listened while the guest was speaking, 

Listened while her father answered, "^^^ 

But not once her lips she opened, 

'Not a single word she uttered. 

Yes, as in a dream she listened 
To the words of Hiawatha, 

As he talked of old l^okomis, ^^^ 

Who had nursed him in his childhood, 
As he told of his companions, 
Chibiabos, the musician, 
And the very strong man, Kwasind, 
And of happiness and plenty 
In the land of the Ojibways, 
In the pleasant land and peaceful. 

"After many years of warfare, 
Many years of strife and bloodshed, 
There is peace between the Ojibways 
And the tribe of the Dacotahs." 
Thus continued Hiawatha, 
And then added, speaking slowly, 
" That this peace may last for ever, 
And our hands be clasped more closely. 
And our hearts be more united. 
Give me as my wife this maiden, 
Minnehaha, Laughing "Water, 
Loveliest of Dacotah women ! " 

And the ancient Arrow-maker ^*® 

Paused a moment ere he answered, 
Smoked a little while in silence, 



170 



175 



190 



195 



94 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Looked at Hiawatha proudly, 

Fondly looked at Laiigliing Water, 

And made answer very gravely: ^^^ 

" Yes, if Minnehaha wishes ; 

Let your heart speak, Minnehaha ! " 

And the lovely Laughing Water 
Seemed more lovely, as she stood there, 
]^either willing nor reluctant, 
As she went to Hiawatha, 
Softly took the seat beside him, 
While she said, and blushed to say it, 
" I will follow you, my husband ! '^ 

This was Hiawatha's wooing ! 
Thus it was he won the daughter 
Of the ancient Arrow-maker, 
In the land of the Dacotahs ! 

From the wigwam he departed, 
Leading with him Laughing Water ; 
Hand in hand they went together. 
Through the woodland and the meadow. 
Left the old man standing lonely 
At the doorway of his wigwam. 
Heard the Falls of Minnehaha 205 

Calling to them from the distance. 
Crying to them from afar off, 
" Fare thee well, O Minnehaha ! " 

And the ancient Arrow-maker 
Turned again unto his labor, 
Sat down by his sunny doorway. 
Murmuring to himself, and saying: 
" Thus it is our daughters leave us, 



200 



210 



95 

Those we love, and those who love us ! 

Just when thej have learned to help us, 21. -v 

When we are old and lean upon them, 

Comes a youth with flaunting feathers, 

With his flute of reeds, a stranger 

Wanders piping through the village, 

Beckons to the fairest maiden, 220 

And she follows where he leads her, 

Leaving all things for the stranger ! " 

Pleasant was the journey homeward, 
Through interminable forests. 

Over meadow, over mountain, . 225 

Over river, hill, and hollow. 
Short it seemed to Hiawatha, 
Though they journeyed very slowly. 
Though his pace he checked and slackened 
To the steps of Laughing Water. 2^0 

Over wide and rushing rivers 
In his arms he bore the maiden ; 
Light he thought her as a feather. 
As the plume upon his head-gear ; 
Cleared the tangled pathway for her, 23g 

Bent aside the swaying branches. 
Made at night a lodge of branches. 
And a bed with boughs of hemlock, 
And a fire before the doorway 
With the dry cones of the pine-tree. 240 

All the travelling winds went with them, 
O'er the meadow, through the forest ; 
All the stars of night looked at them, 
Watched with sleepless eyes their slumber ; 



96 



THE CRANE CLASSICS 

From his ambush in the oak-tree ^^^ 

Peeped the squirrel, Adjidaumo, 

Watched with eager eyes the lovers; 

And the rabbit, the Wabasso, 

Scampered from the path before them, 

Peering, peeping from his burrow, ^^^ 

Sat erect upon his haunches. 

Watched with curious eyes the lovers. 

Pleasant was the journey homeward ! 
All the birds sang loud and sweetly 
Songs of happiness and heart's-ease ; ^^'^ 

Sang the blue-bird, the Owaissa, 
" Happy are you, Hiawatha, 
Having such a wife to love you ! " 
Sang the Opechee, the robin, 

^^ Happy are you. Laughing Water, ^eo 

Having such a noble husband ! " 

Prom the sky the sun benignant 
Looked upon them through the branches. 
Saying to them, " O my children, 
Love is sunshine, hate is shadow, ^^^ 

Life is checkered shade and sunshine, 
Kule by love, O Hiawatha ! '' 

From the sky the moon looked at them, 
Pilled the lodge with mystic splendors. 
Whispered to them, " my children, 
Day is restless, night is quiet, 
Man imperious, woman feeble; 
Half is mine, although I follow ; 
Rule by patience. Laughing Water ! '^ 

Thus it was they journeyed homeward; 



270 



270 



IIIAWATIIA^S WOOING 97 

Thus it was that Hiawatha 

To the lodge of old ]Srokomis 

Brought the moonlight, starlight, firelight, 

Brought the sunshine of his people, 

Minnehaha, Laughing Water, 28o 

Handsomest of all the women 

In the land of the Dacotahs, 

In the land of handsome women. 



-7 



98 THE CRANE CLASSICS 



HIAWATHA'S WEDDING FEAST. 

XI. 

You shall hear how Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
How the handsome Yenadizze 
Danced at Hiawatha's wedding; 
How the gentle Chibiabos, 
He the sweetest of musicians, 
Sang his songs of love and longing ; 
How lagoo, the great boaster, 
He the marvellous story-teller, 
Told his tales of strange adventure. 
That the feast might be more joyous, 
That the time might pass more gayly, 
And the guests be more contented. 

Sumptuous was the feast Nokomis 
Made at Hiawatha's wedding ; 
All the bowls were made of bass-wood, 
White and polished very smoothly. 
All the spoons of horn of bison, 
Black and polished very smoothly. 

She had sent through all the village 
Messengers with wands of willow, 
As a sign of invitation, 
As a token of the feasting; 
And the wedding guests assembled. 
Clad in all their richest raiment, 
Robes of fur and belts of wampum, 
Splendid with their paint and plumage. 
Beautiful with beads and tassels. 



10 



15 



20 



25 



99 

First they ate the sturgeon, ^tsTahma, 
And the pike, the Maskenozha, 
Caught and cooked by old N'okomis ; so 

Then on pemican they feasted, 
Pemican and buffalo marrow. 
Haunch of deer and hump of bison, 
Yellow cakes of the Mondamin, 
And the wild rice of the river. 35 

But the gracious Hiawatha, 
And the lovely Laughing Water, 
And the careful old ^NTokomis, 
Tasted not the food before them. 
Only waited on the others, *® 

Only served their guests in silence. 

And when all the guests had finished. 
Old Xokomis, brisk and busy, 
From an ample pouch of otter. 
Filled the red stone pipes for smoking *^ 

With tobacco from the South-land, 
Mixed with bark of the red willow, 
And with herbs and leaves of fragrance. 

Then she said, " O Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Dance for us your merry dances, ^^ 

Dance the Beggar's Dance to please us, 
That the feast may be more joyous, 
That the time may pass more g^yly, 
And our guests be more conte ted ! " 

Then the handsome Pau-Puk-Keewis, '^^ 

He the idle Yenadizze, 
He the merrv mischief -maker. 
Whom the people called the Storm-Fool, 



100 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Eose among the guests assembled. 

Skilled was he in sports and pastimes, ^" 

In the merry dance of snow-shoes, 
In the play of quoits and ball-play ; 
Skilled was he in games of hazard, 
In all games of skill and hazard, 
Pugasaing, the Bowl and Counters, ^^ 

Kuntassoo, the Game of Plum-stones. 

Though the warriors called him Paint-Heart, 
Called him coward, Shaugodaya, 
Idler, gambler, Yenadizze, 

Little heeded he their jesting, ^^ 

Little cared he for their insults. 
For the women and the maidens 
Loved the handsome Pau-Puk-Keewis. 

He was dressed in shirt of doe-skin. 
White and soft, and fringed with ermine, ^" 

All inwrought with beads of wampum ; 
He was dressed in deer-skin leggings, 
Pringed with hedgehog quills and ermine. 
And in moccasons of buckskin. 
Thick with quills and beads embroidered. ^^ 

On his head were plumes of swan's down, 
On his heels were tails of foxes, 
In one hand a fan of feathers. 
And a pipe was in the other. 

Barred with streaks of red and yellow, ^^ 

Streaks of blue and bright vermilion, 
Shone the face of Pau-Puk-Keewis. 
Prom his forehead fell his tresses. 
Smooth, and parted like a woman's, 



Hiawatha's wedding feast 101 

Shining bright with oil, and plaited, ^^ 

Hung with braids of scented grasses, 

As among the guests assembled, 

To the sound of flutes and singing. 

To the sound of drums and voices, 

Rose the handsome Pau-Puk-Keewis, ^^ 

And began his mystic dances. 

First he danced a solemn measure, 
Very slow in step and gesture. 
In and out among the pine-trees, 
Through the shadows and the sunshine, ^^^ 

Treading softly like a panther. 
Then more swiftly and still swifter. 
Whirling, spinning round in circles. 
Leaping o'er the guests assembled. 
Eddying round and round the wigwam, ^^^ 

Till the leaves went whirling with him, 
Till the dust and wind together 
Swept in eddies round about him. 

Then along the sandy margin 
Of the lake, the Big-Sea- Water, ' iio 

On he sped with frenzied gestures, 
Stamped upon the sand, and tossed it 
Wildly in the air around him ; 
Till the wind became a whirlwind, 
Till the sand was blown and sifted ^^' 

Like great snow-drifts o'er the landscape. 
Heaping all the shores with Sand Dunes, 
Sand Hills of the l^agow Wudjoo ! 

Thus the merry Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Danced hi8 Beggar's Dance to please them, ^^^ 



125 



130 



102 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

And, returning, sat down laughing 
There among the guests assembled, 
Sat and fanned himself serenely 
With his fan of turkey-feathers. 

Then they said to Chibiabos, 
To the friend of Hiawatha, 
To the sweetest of all singers. 
To the best of all musicians, 
" Sing to us, O Chibiabos ! 
Songs of love and songs of longing, 
That the feast may be more joyous, 
That the time may pass more gayly, 
And our guests be more contented ! " 

And the gentle Chibiabos 
Sang in accents sweet and tender, ^^' 

Sang in tones of deep emotion. 
Songs of love and songs of longing ; 
Looking still at Hiawatha, 
Looking at fair Laughing Water, 
Sang he softly, sang in this wise : *^^ 

" Onaway ! Awake, beloved ! 
Thou the wild-flower of the forest ! 
Thou the wild-bird of the prairie ! 
Thou with eyes so soft and fawn-like ! 

" If thou only lookest at me, ^^^ 

I am happy, I am happy, 
As the lilies of the prairie. 
When they feel the dew upon them! 

^^ Sweet thy breath is as the fragrance 
Of the wild-flowers in the morning, ^'^ 

As their fragrance is at evening. 



155 



160 



103 



In the Moon when leaves are falling. 

" Does not all the blood within me 
Leap to meet thee, leap to meet thee, 
As the springs to meet the sunshine, 
In the Moon when nights are brightest ? 

" Onaway ! my heart sings to thee. 
Sings with joy when thou art near me, 
As the sighing, singing branches 
In the pleasant Moon of Strawberries ! 

"When thou art not pleased, beloved. 
Then my heart is sad and darkened. 
As the shining river darkens 
When the clouds drop shadows on it ! 

" When thou smilest, my beloved, ^^^ 

Then my troubled heart is brightened, 
As in sunshine gleam the ripples 
That the cold wind makes in rivers. 

" Smiles the earth, and smile the waters, 
Smile the cloudless skies above us, ^^^ 

But I lose the way of smiling 
When thou art no longer near me ! 

" I myself, myself ! behold me ! 
Blood of my beating hearty behold me ! 
O awake, awake, beloved ! ^"^^ 

Onaway ! awake, beloved ! " 

Thus the gentle Chibiabos 
Sang his song of love and longing ; 
And lagoo, the great boaster. 
He the marvellous story-teller, ^^® 

He the friend of old N'okomis, 
Jealous of the sweet musician. 



104 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Jealous of the applause they gave him, 

Saw in all the eyes around him, 

Saw in all their looks and gestures, ^^^ 

That the wedding guests assembled 

Longed to hear his pleasant stories, 

His immeasurable falsehoods. 

Very boastful was lagoo ; 
!N^ever heard he an adventure ^^^ 

But himself had met a greater; 
Never any deed of daring 
But himself had done a bolder ;- 
Never any marvellous story 
But himself could tell a stranger. ^^' 

Would you listen to his boasting. 
Would you only give him credence, 
'No one ever shot an arrow 
Half so far and high as he had; 
Ever caught so many fishes, ^^^ 

Ever killed so many reindeer. 
Ever trapped so many beaver ! 

None could run so fast as he could, 
None could dive so deep as he could. 
None could swim so far as he could ; ^^' 

None had made so many journeys. 
None had seen so many wonders. 
As this wonderful lagoo. 
As this marvellous story-teller! 

Thus his name became a by- word 
And a jest among the people; 
And whene'er a boastful hunter 
Praised his own address too highly, 



210 



Hiawatha's wedding feast 105 

Or a warrior, home returning, 

Talked too mncli of liis achievements, 215 

All his hearers cried, '^ lagoo ! 

Here 's lagoo come among iis ! " 

He it was who carved the cradle 
Of the little Hiawatha, 

Carved its framework out of linden, 220 

Bound it strong with reindeer sinews ; 
He it was who taught him later 
How to make his bows and arrows, 
How to make the bows of ash-tree, 
And the arrows of the oak-tree. ^^" 

So among the guests assembled 
At my Hiawatha's wedding 
Sat lagoo, old and ugly. 
Sat the marvellous story-teller. 

And they said, ^^ O good lagoo, *^® 

Tell us now a tale of wonder. 
Tell us of some strange adventure. 
That the feast may be more joyous. 
That the time may pass more gayly. 
And our guests be more contented ! " *^^ 

And lagoo answered straightway, 
" You shall hear a tale of wonder. 
You shall hear the strange adventures 
Of Osseo, the Magician, 
From the Evening Star descended." 2*° 



10 



106 THE CRANE CLASSICS 



THE SON OF THE EVEISTING STAR 

XII. 

Caw it be the sun descending 
O'er the level plain of water ? 
Or the Eed Swan floating, flying, 
Wounded by the magic arrow, 
Staining all the waves with crimson, 
With the crimson of its life-blood, 
Pilling all the air with splendor, 
With the splendor of its plumage ? 

Yes ; it is the sun descending. 
Sinking down into the water; 
All the sky is stained with purple. 
All the water flushed with crimson ! 
"No ; it is the Red Swan floating. 
Diving down beneath the water ; 
To the sky its wings are lifted, ^^ 

With its blood the waves are reddened ! 

Over it the Star of Evening 
Melts and trembles through the purple, 
Hangs suspended in the twilight. 
ISTo; it is a bead of wampum 20 

On the robes of the Great Spirit, 
As he passes through the twilight. 
Walks in silence through the heavens ! 

This with joy beheld lagoo, 
And he said in haste : " Behold it ! 25 

See the sacred Star of Evening! 
You shall hear a tale of wonder. 



THE SOIT OF THE EVENIIiTG STAR 107 

Hear the story of Osseo, 

Son of the Evening Star, Osseo ! 

" Once, in days no more remembered, ^^ 

Ages nearer the beginning, 
When the heavens were closer to us, 
And the gods were more familiar, 
In the E'orth-land lived a hunter, 
With ten young and comely daughters, ^^ 

Tall and lithe as wands of willow ; 
Only Oweenee, the youngest. 
She the wilful and the wayward. 
She the silent, dreamy maiden, 
Was the fairest of the sisters. ^^ 

"All these women married warriors. 
Married brave and haughty husbands ; 
Only Oweenee, the youngest. 
Laughed and flouted all her lovers. 
All her young and handsome suitors, *' 

And then married old Osseo, 
Old Osseo, poor and ugly. 
Broken with age and weak with coughing. 
Always coughing like a squirrel. 

"Ah, but beautiful within him ^° 

Was the spirit of Osseo, 
From the Evening Star descended. 
Star of Evening, Star of Woman, 
Star of tenderness and passion ! 
All its fire was in his bosom, '^^ 

All its beauty in his spirit. 
All its mystery in his being. 
All its splendor in his language I 



108 THE CRANE CLASSICS . 

"And her lovers, tlie rejected, 
Handsome men with helts of wampum, 
Handsome men with paint and feathers, 
Pointed at her in derision, 
Followed her with jest and laughter. 
But she said : ' I care not for you. 
Care not for your belts of wampum, 
Care not for your paint and feathers. 
Care not for your jests and laughter ; 
I am happy with Osseo ! ' 

" Once to some great feast invited, 
Through the damp and dusk of evening 
Walked together the ten sisters, 
Walked together with their husbands ; 
Slowly followed old Osseo, 
With fair OAveenee beside him ; 
All the others chatted gayly. 
These two only walked in silence. 

"At the western sky Osseo 
Gazed intent, as if imploring. 
Often stopped and gazed imploring 
At the trembling Star of Evening, 
At the tender Star of Woman ; 
And they heard him murmur softly, 
^Ah, sliowain nemesliin, Nosal 
Pity, pity me, my father ! ' 

" ' Listen ! ' said the eldest sister, 
' He is praying to his father ! 
What a pity that the old man 
Does not stumble in the pathAvay, 
Does not break his neck by falling ! ' 



THE SON OF THE EVEIS^IN-G STAR 109 

And they laughed till all the forest ^° 

Rang with their unseemly laughter. 

" On their pathway through the woodlands 
Lay an oak, by storms uprooted, 
Lay the great trunk of an oak-tree, 
Buried half in leaves and mosses, ^^ 

Mouldering, crumbling, huge and holloAV. 
And Osseo, when he saw it. 
Gave a shout, a cry of anguish. 
Leaped into its yawning cavern. 
At one end went in an old man, ^^^ 

Wasted, wrinkled, old, and ugly ; 
From the other came a young man, 
Tall and straight and strong and handsome. 

" Thus Osseo was transfigured, 
Thus restored to youth and beauty; ^^^ 

But, alas for good Osseo, 
And for Oweenee, the faithful ! 
Strangely, too, was she transfigured. 
Changed into a weak old woman, 
With a staff she tottered onward, ^^^ 

Wasted, wrinkled, old-, and ugly ! 
And the sisters and their husbands 
Laughed until the echoing forest 
Rang with their unseemly laughter. 

" But Osseo turned not from her, ^^^ 

Walked with slower step beside her. 
Took her hand, as brown and withered 
As an oak-leaf in the Winter, 
Called her sweetheart, Nenemoosha, 
Soothed her with soft words of kindness, ^^^ 



110 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Till they reached the lodge of feasting, 
Till they sat down in the wigwam, 
Sacred to the Star of Evening, 
To the tender Star of Woman. 

" Wrapt in visions, lost in dreaming, 
At the banquet sat Osseo ; 
All were merry, all were happy. 
All were joyous but Osseo. 
IsTeither food nor drink he tasted, 
Neither did he speak nor listen. 
But as one bewildered sat he. 
Looking dreamily and sadly. 
First at Oweenee, then upward 
At the gleaming sky above them. 

'^ Then a voice was heard, a whisper. 
Coming from the starry distance. 
Coming from the empty vastness, 
Low, and musical, and tender; 
And the voice said : ' O Osseo ! 
O my son, my best beloved ! 
Broken are the spells that bound you. 
All the charms of the magicians. 
All the magic powers of evil; 
Come to me ; ascend, Osseo ! 

^' ' Taste the food that stands before you : 
It is blessed and enchanted. 
It has magic virtues in it. 
It will change you to a spirit. 
All your bowls and all your kettles 
Shall be wood and clay no longer ; 
But the bowls be changed to wampum, 



TTIE SON OF THE EVENHq-Q STAR 111 

And the kettles shall be silver ; 

They shall shine like shells of scarlet, 

Like the fire shall gleam and glimmer. 

" 'And the women shall no longer ^^^ 

Bear the dreary doom of labor, 
But be changed to birds, and glisten 
With the beauty of the starlight, 
Painted with the dusky splendors 
Of the skies and clouds of evening ! ' ^^® 

"What Osseo heard as whispers, 
What as words he comprehended, 
Was but music to the others, 
Music as of birds afar off, 

Of the whippoorwill afar off, ^^^ 

Of the lonely Wawonaissa 
Singing in the darksome forest. 

" Then the lodge began to tremble. 
Straight began to shake and tremble, 
And they felt it rising, rising, '"® 

Slowly through the air ascending, 
From the darkness of the tree-tops 
Forth into the dewy starlight. 
Till it passed the topmost branches; 
And behold ! the wooden dishes ^"^^ 

All were changed to shells of scarlet ! 
And behold ! the earthen kettles 
All were changed to bowls of silver ! 
All the roof-poles of the wigwam 
Were as glittering rods of silver. 
And the roof of bark upon them 
As the shinino^ shards of beetles. 



ISO 



112 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

" Then Osseo gazed around him, 
And he saw the nine fair sisters, 
All the sisters and their husbands, ^®* 

Changed to birds of various plumage. 
Some were jays and some were magpies, 
- Others thrushes, others blackbirds ; 
And they hopped, and sang, and twittered, 
Perked and fluttered all their feathers, ^^^ 

Strutted in their shining plumage, 
And their tails like fans unfolded. 

" Only Oweenee, the youngest. 
Was not changed, but sat in silence. 
Wasted, wrinkled, old, and ugly, ^*' 

Looking sadly at the others ; 
Till Osseo, gazing upward, 
Gave another cry of anguish. 
Such a cry as he had uttered 
By the oak-tree in the forest. ^^^ 

" Then returned her youth and beauty. 
And her soiled and tattered garments 
Were transformed to robes of ermine. 
And her staff became a feather, 
Yes, a shining silver feather ! ^^ 

"And again the wigwam trembled. 
Swayed and rushed through airy currents. 
Through transparent cloud and vapor, 
And amid celestial splendors 
On the Evening Star alighted, 
As a snow-flake falls on snow-flake. 
As a leaf drops on a river. 
As the thistle-down on water. 



211 



-8 



THE so:?? OF THE EVENUsTG STAB 113 

" For til with cheerful words of welcome 
% Came the father of Osseo, 215 

He with radiant locks of silver, 
He with eyes serene and tender. 
And he said : ' My son, Osseo, 
Hang the cage of birds you bring there. 
Hang the cage with rods of silver, ' 220 

And the birds with glistening feathers, 
At the doorway of my wigwam.' 

"At the door he hung the bird-cage, 
And they entered in and gladly 
Listened to Osseo's father, ^^^ 

Ruler of the Star of Evening, 
As he said : ' my Osseo ! 
I have had compassion on you. 
Given you back your youth and beauty, 
Into birds of various plumage ^^'' 

Changed your sisters and their husbands ; 
Changed them thus because they mocked you. 
In the figure of the old man, 
In that aspect sad and wrinkled. 
Could not see your heart of passion, ^^* 

Could not see your youth immortal ; 
Only Oweenee, the faithful, 
Saw your naked heart and loved you. 

" ^ In the lodge that glimmers yonder 
In the little star that twinkles ^^^ 

Through the vapors, on the left hand. 
Lives the envious Evil Spirit, 
The Wabeno, the magician. 
Who transformed you to an old man. 



114 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Take heed lest his beams fall on you, ^^^ 

Por the rays he darts around him 
Are the power of his enchantment, 
Are the arrows that he uses.' 

" Many years, in peace and quiet. 
On the peaceful Star of Evening ^50 

Dwelt Osseo with his father ; 
Many years, in song and flutter. 
At the doorway of the wigwam, 
Hung the cage with rods of silver. 
And fair Oweenee, the faithful, ^^' 

Bore a son unto Osseo, 
With the beauty of his mother, 
With the courage of his father. 

^^And the boy grew up and prospered. 
And Osseo, to delight him, 260 

Made him little bows and arrows. 
Opened the great cage of silver. 
And let loose his aunts and imcles. 
All those birds with glossy feathers. 
For his little son to shoot at. ^^^ 

" Round and round they wheeled and darted, 
Filled the Evening Star with music. 
With their songs of joy and freedom ; 
Filled the Evening Star with splendor. 
With the fluttering of their plumage; ^^^ 

Till the boy, the little hunter. 
Bent his bow and shot an arrow. 
Shot a swift and fatal arrow, 
And a bird, with shining feathers, 
At his feet fell w^ounded sorely. ^'^^ 



290 



THE SON OF THE EVENTING STAR 115 

" But, O wondrous transformation ! 
'T was no bird he saw before him, 
||, 'T was a beautiful young woman, 
With the arrow in her bosom ! 

" ^Yhen her blood fell on the planet, 280 

On the sacred Star of Evening, 
Broken was the spell of magic, 
Powerless was the strange enchantment, 
And the youth, the fearless bowman, 
Suddenly felt himself descending, 285 

Held by unseen hands, but sinking 
Downward through the empty spaces. 
Downward through the clouds and vapors, 
Till he rested on an island. 
On an island, 'green and grassy. 
Yonder in the Big-Sea-AVater. 

"After him he saw descending 
All the birds with shining feathers. 
Fluttering, falling, wafted downward. 
Like the painted leaves of Autumn ; 
And the lodge with poles of silver, 
With its roof like wings of beetles. 
Like the shining shards of beetles. 
By the winds of heaven uplifted. 
Slowly sank upon the island. 
Bringing back the good Osseo, 
Bringing Oweenee, the faithful. 

" Then the birds, again transfigured, 
Reassumed the shape of mortals. 
Took their shape, but not their stature ; 
They remained as Little People, 



295 



300 



805 



116 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Like the pigmies, tlie Puk-Wudjies, 

And on pleasant nights of Summer, 

When the Evening Star was shining, 

Hand in hand thej danced together ^^^ 

On the island's craggy headlands, 

On the sand-beach low and level. 

" Still their glittering lodge is seen there, 
On the tranquil Summer evenings, 
And upon the shore the fisher "'^ 

Sometimes hears their happy voices. 
See them dancing in the starlight ! '^ 

When the story was completed, 
When the wondrous tale was ended. 
Looking round upon his listeners, ^^^ 

Solemnly lagoo added : 
^' There are great men, I have known such. 
Whom their people understand not. 
Whom they even make a jest of, 
Scoif and jeer at in derision. ^^^ 

From the story of Osseo 
Let us learn the fate of jesters ! '' 

All the wedding guests delighted 
Listened to the marvellous story, 
Listened laughing and applauding, ^^^ 

And they whispered to each other : 
" Does he mean himself, I wonder ? 
And are we the aunts and uncles V ■ 

Then again sang Chibiabos 
Sang a song of love and longing, ^^^ 

In those accents sweet and tender, 
In those tones of pensive sadness, 



THE SON" OF THE EVEI^ING STAR 



117 



345 



350 



%Sang a maiden's lamentation 
For her lover, her Algonquin. 

" When I think of my beloved, 34o 

Ah me ! think of my beloved, 
"When my heart is thinking of him, 
O my sweetheart, my Algonquin ! 

"Ah me ! when I parted from him. 
Round my neck he hung the w^ampum, 
As a pledge, the snow^-wdiite wampum, 
O my sweetheart, my Algonquin ! 

" I will go with you, he whispered. 
Ah me ! to your native country ; 
Let me go with you, he whispered, 
O my sweetheart, my Algonquin ! 

" Far away, away, I answered. 
Very far aw^ay, I answered. 
Ah me ! is my native country, 
O my sweetheart, my Algonquin ! 

" When I looked back to behold him ; 
Where we parted, to behold him. 
After me he still was gazing, 
O my sweetheart, my Algonquin ! 

" By the tree he still was standing. 
By the fallen tree was standing, 
That had dropped into the water, 
O my sweetheart, my Algonquin ! 

" ^Vhen I think of my beloved, 
Ah me ! think of my beloved, 
When my heart is thinking of him, 
O my sweetheart, my Algonquin ! " 

Such was Hiawatha's Wedding, 



355 



365 



118 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

Such the dance of Pau-Puk-Keewis, 

Such the story of lagoo, ^^^ 

Such the songs of Ohibiabos ; 

Thus the wedding banquet ended, 

And the wedding guests departed, 

Leaving Hiawatha happy 

With the night and Minnehaha. ^^' 



BLESSIITG THE CORN-FIELDS 119 



BLESsmG THE cor:n^-fields. 

XIII. 

Si'^G, O Song of Hiawatha, 

Of the happy days that followed, 

In the land of the Ojibways, 

In the pleasant land and peaceful! 

Sing the mysteries of Mondamin, ^ 

Sing the«Blessing of the Corn-fields ! 

Buried was the bloody hatchet, 
Buried was the dreadful war-club, 
Buried were all warlike weapons, 
And the war-cry was forgotten. ^^ 

There was peace among the nations ; 
Unmolested roved the hunters, 
Built the birch-canoe for sailing. 
Caught the fish in lake and river. 
Shot the deer and trapped the beaver ; ^^ 

Unmolested worked the w^omen, 
Made their sugar from the maple. 
Gathered wild rice in the meadows. 
Dressed the skins of deer and beaver. 

All around the happy village ^° 

Stood the maize-fields, green and shining, 
Waved the green plumes of Mondamin, 
Waved his soft and sunny tresses. 
Filling all the land with plenty. 
'T was the women who in Spring-time 
Planted the broad fields and fruitful, 
Buried in the earth Mondamin; 



25 



120 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

'T was the women who in Autumn 
Stripped the yellow husks of harvest, 
Stripped the garments from Mondamin, 
Even as Hiawatha taught them. 

Once, when all the maize was planted, 
Hiawatha, wise and thoughtful. 
Spake and said to Minnehaha, 
To his wife, the Laughing Water : 
" You shall bless to-night the corn-fields. 
Draw a magic circle round them, 
To protect them from destruction, 
Blast of mildew, blight of insect, 
Wagemin, the thief of corn-fields, 
Paimosaid, who steals the maize-ear ! 

" In the night, when all is silence. 
In the night, when all is darkness. 
When the Spirit of Sleep, E'epahwin, 
Shuts the doors of all the wigwams. 
So that not an ear can hear you. 
So that not an eye can see you. 
Rise up from your bed in silence. 
Lay aside your garments wholly. 
Walk around the fields you planted. 
Round the borders of the corn-fields, 
Covered by your tresses only, 
Robed with darkness as a garment. 

^^ Thus the fields shall be more fruitful. 
And the passing of your footsteps 
Draw a magic circle round them, 
So that neither blight nor mildew, 
!N'either burrowing worm nor insect, 



BLESSING THE CORjN'-FIELDS 121 

Shall pass o'er the magic circle ; 

'Not the dragon-fly, Kwo-ne-she, ^^ 

ISTor the spider, Subbekashe, 

Not the grasshopper, Pah-Puk-keena, 

E'er the mighty caterpillar, 

Way-muk-kwana, with the bear-skin. 

King of all the caterpillars ! " ^^ 

On the tree-tops near the corn-fields 
Sat the hungry crows and ravens, 
Kahgahgee, the King of Ravens, 
With his band of black marauders. 
And they laughed at Hiawatha, '^^ 

Till the tree-tops shook with laughter. 
With their melancholy laughter 
At the words of Hiawatha. 
" Hear him ! " said they ; " hear the Avise man ! 
Hear the plots of Hiawatha ! " ^^ 

When the noiseless night descended 
Broad and dark o'er field and forest, 
When the mournful Wawonaissa, 
Sorrowing sang among the hemlocks. 
And the Spirit of Sleep, l^epahwin, ^° 

Shut the doors of all the wig^vams. 
Prom her bed rose Laughing Water, 
Laid aside her garments wholly. 
And with darkness clothed and guarded. 
Unashamed and unaffrighted. 
Walked securely round the corn-fields. 
Drew the sacred, magic circle 
Of her footprints round the corn-fields. 

No one but the Midnight only 



85 



122 THE CRANE CLASSICS 



Saw her beauty in the darkness, 9c 

No one but the Wawonaissa 

Heard the panting of her bosom ; 

Guskewau, the darkness, wrap2)ed her 

Closely in his sacred mantle, 

So that none might see her beauty, 95 

So that none might boast, " I saw her ! " 
On the morrow, as the day dawned, 

Kahgahgee, the King of Havens, 

Gathered all his black marauders. 

Crows and blackbirds, jays and ravens loo 

Clamorous on the dusky tree-tops. 

And descended, fast and fearless 

On the fields of Hiawatha, 
On the grave of the Mondamin. 

'' We will drag Mondamin," said they, 105 

" From the grave where he is buried. 
Spite of all the magic circles 
Laughing Water draws around it, 
Spite of all the sacred footprints 
Minnehaha stamps upon it ! '' • no 

But the wary Hiawatha, 
Ever thoughtful, careful, watchful. 
Had o'erheard the scornful laughter 
When they mocked him from the tree-tops. 
" Kaw ! '' he said, '' my friends the ravens ! us 
Kahgahgee, mj King of Eavens ! 
I will teach you all a lesson 
That shall not be soon forgotten ! " 

He had risen before the daybreak, 
He had spread o'er all the corn-fields 120 



BLESSING THE COEN-FIELDS 123 

Snares to catch the black marauders, 

And was lying now in ambush 

In the neighboring grove of pine-trees, 

Waiting for the crowds and blackbirds, 

Waiting for the jays and ravens. ^25 

Soon they came with caw and clamor, 
Rush of wings and cry of voices. 
To their work of devastation. 
Settling down upon the corn-fields, 
Delving deep with beak and talon, ^^^ 

For the body of Mondamin. 
And with all their craft and cunning. 
All their skill in wiles of warfare. 
They perceived no danger near them, 
Till their claws became entangled, ^^^ 

Till they found themselves imprisoned 
In the snares of Hiawatha. 

From his place of ambush came he, 
Striding terrible among them, 
And so awful was his aspect 
That the bravest quailed with terror. 
Without mercy he destroyed them 
Right and left, by tens and twenties, 
And their wretched, lifeless bodies 
Hung aloft on poles for scarecrows 
Round the consecrated corn-fields. 
As a signal of his vengeance. 
As a warning to marauders. 

Only Kahgahgee, the leader, 
Kahgahgee, the King of Ravens, 
He alonc'was spared among them 



140 



145 



160 



160 



165 



124 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

As a hostage for his people. 

With his prisoner-string he bonnd him, 

Led him captive to his wigwam, 

Tied him fast with cords of ehn-bark ^^^ 

To the ridge-pole of his wigwam. 

" Kahgahgee, my raven ! '' said he, 
" You the leader of the robbers, 
You the plotter of this mischief, 
The contriver of this outrage, 
I will keep you, I will hold you, 
As a hostage for your people, . 

As a pledge of good behavior ! " 

And he left him, grim and sulky. 
Sitting in the morning sunshine 
On the summit of the wigwam. 
Croaking fiercely his displeasure. 
Flapping his great sable pinions. 
Vainly struggling for his freedom. 
Vainly calling on his people ! 

Summer passed, and Shawondasee 
Breathed his sighs o'er all the landscape. 
From the South-land sent his ardors. 
Wafted kisses warm and tender ; 
And the maize-field grew and ripened, ^^' 

Till it stood in all the splendor 
Of its garments green and yellow, 
Of its tassels and its plumage. 
And the maize-ears full and shining 
Gleamed from bursting sheaths of verdure. ^^^ 

Then Nokomis, the old woman. 
Spake, and said to Minnehaha : 



170 



BLESSIITG THE COEIT-FIELDS 125 

" 'T is the Moon when leaves are falling ; 

All the wild rice has been gathered, 

And the maize is ripe and ready; ^*^ 

Let us gather in the harvest, 

Let us wrestle with Mondamin, 

Strip him of his plumes and tassels, 

Of his garments green and yellow ! " 

And the merry Laughing Water ^®° 

Went rejoicing from the wigwam. 
With I^okomis, old and wrinkled. 
And they called the women roimd them, 
Called the young men and the maidens, 
To the harvest of the corn-fields, ^^' 

To the husking of the maize-ear. 

On the border of the forest. 
Underneath the fragrant pine-trees. 
Sat the old men and the warriors 
Smoking in the pleasant shadow. 
In uninterrupted silence 
Looked they at the gamesome labor 
Of the young men and the women ; 
Listened to their noisy talking. 
To their laughter and their singing, 
Heard them chattering like the magpies. 
Heard them laughing like the blue-jays, 
Heard them singing like the robins. 

And whene'er some lucky maiden 
Found a red ear in the husking, 
round a maize-ear red as blood is, 
" JSTushka ! '' cried they all together, 
" Kushka ! you shall have a sweetheart, 



200 



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126 THE CEAJ^E CLASSICS 

You shall have a handsome husband ! '' 

" Ugh ! " the old men all responded 215 

From their seats beneath the pine-trees. 

And whene'er a youth or maiden 
Found a crooked ear in husking, 
Found a maize ear in the husking 
Blighted, mildewed, or misshapen, 220 

Then they laughed and sang together, 
Crept and limped about the corn-fields, 
Mimicked in their gait and gestures 
Some old man, bent almost double, 
Singing singly or together : ^^' 

^' Wagemin, the thief of corn-fields ! 
Paimosaid, the skulking robber ! '' 
Till the corn-fields rang with laughter. 
Till from Hiawatha's wigwam 
Kahgahgee, the King of Eavens, . 230 

Screamed and quivered in his anger. 
And from all the neighboring tree-tops 
Cawed and croaked the black marauders. 
" Ugh ! " the old men all responded. 
From their seats beneath the pine-trees ! ^35 



PICTURE-WEITIiq-G 127 



PICTUEE-^VEITING. 

XIV. 

In those days said Hiawatha, 

^' Lo ! how all things fade and perish ! 

From the memory of the old men 

Fade away the great traditions, 

The achievements of the warriors, 

The adventures of the hunters. 

All the wisdom of the Medas, 

All the craft of the Wabenos, 

All the marvellous dreams and visions 

Of the Jossakeeds, the Prophets ! 

" Great men die and are forgotten. 
Wise men speak ; their words of wisdom 
Perish in the ears that hear them. 
Do not reach the generations 



10 



That, as yet unborn, are waiting 
In the great, mysterious darkness 
Of the speechless days that shall be ! 

^' On the grave-posts of our fathers 
Are no signs, no figures painted ; 
Who are in those graves we know not, 
Only know they are our fathers. 
Of what kith they are and kindred, 
From what old, ancestral Totem, 
Be it Eagle, Bear, or Beaver, 
They descended, this we know not, 
Only know they are our fathers. 

" Face to face we speak together, 



15 



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128 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

But we cannot speak when absent, 

Cannot send onr voices from us 

To the friends that dwell afar off; ^^ 

Cannot send a secret message, 

But the bearer learns our secret, 

May pervert it, may betray it. 

May reveal it unto others." 

Thus said Hiawatha, walking 
In the solitary forest. 
Pondering, musing in the forest, 
On the welfare of his people. 

From his pouch he took his colors, 
Took his paints of different colors, 
On the smooth bark of a birch-tree 
Painted many shapes and figures, 
Wonderful and mystic figures, 
And each figure had a meaning. 
Each some word or thought suggested. 

Gitche Manito the Mighty, 
He, the Master of Life^ was painted 
As an egg, with points projecting 
To the four winds of the heavens. 
Every^vhere is the Great Spirit, 
Was the meaning of this symbol. 

Mitche Manito the Mighty, 
He the dreadful Spirit of Evil, 
As a serpent was depicted. 

As Kenabeek, the great serpent. '^^ 

Very crafty, very cunning, 
Is the creeping Spirit of Evil, 
Was the meaning of this symbol. 



BO 



65 



70 



PICTURE-WEITIITG 129 



Life and Death he drew as circles, 
Life was white, but Death was darkened ; ^^ 

Sun and moon and stars he painted, 
Man and beast, and fish and reptile. 
Forests, mountains, lakes, and rivers. 

For the earth he drew a straight line. 
For the sky a bow above it; 
White the space between for day-time. 
Filled with little stars for night-time ; 
On the left a point for sunrise. 
On the right a point for sunset. 
On the top a point for noon-tide. 
And for rain and cloudy weather 
Waving lines descending from it. 

Footprints pointing towards a wigwam 
Were a sign of invitation. 
Were a sign of guests assembling ; 
Bloody hands with palms uplifted 
Were a symbol of destruction, 
Were a hostile sign and symbol. 

All these things did Hiawatha 
Show unto his wondering people. 
And interpreted their meaning. 
And he said : " Behold, your grave-posts 
Have no mark, no sign, nor symbol. 
Go and paint them all with figures ; 
Each one with its household symbol, 
With its own ancestral Totem; 
So that those who follow after 
May distinguish them and know them." 

And they painted on the grave-posts 



75 



80 



85 



130 THE CEAI^E CLASSICS 

Of the graves yet nnforgotten, 
Each his own ancestral Totem, 
Each the symbol of his household ; 
Figures of the Bear and Reindeer, 
Of the Turtle, Crane, and Beaver, 
Each inverted as a token 
That the owner was departed, 
That the chief vvdio bore the symbol 
Lay beneath in dust and ashes. 

And the Jossakeeds, the Prophets, 
The Wabenos, the Magicians, 
And the Medicine-men, the Medas, 
Painted upon bark and deer-skin 
Figures for the songs they chanted. 
For each song a separate symbol. 
Figures mystical and awful. 
Figures strange and brightly colored ; 
And each figure had its meaning, 
Each some magic song suggested. 

The Great Spirit, the Creator, 
Flashing light through all the heaven ; 
The Great Serpent, the Kenabeek, 
With his bloody crest erected. 
Creeping, looking into heaven; 
In the sky the sun, that listens. 
And the moon eclipsed and dying ; 
Owl and eagle, crane and hen-hawk. 
And the cormorant, bird of magic ; 
Headless men, that walk the heavens, 
Bodies lying pierced with arrows. 
Bloody hands of death uplifted, 



135 



PICTUEE-WEITIISrG 131 

Flags on graves, and great war-captains 
Grasping both the earth and heaven ! 

Such as these the shapes thej painted 
On the birch-bark and the deer-skin; 
Songs of war and songs of hunting, ^25 

Songs of medicine and of magic, 
All were written in these figures, 
For each figure had its meaning. 
Each its separate song recorded. 

!N'or forgotten was the Love-Song, ^^^ 

The most subtle of all medicines. 
The most potent spell of magic. 
Dangerous more than war or hunting ! 
Thus the Love-Song was recorded. 
Symbol and interpretation. 

First a human figure standing, 
Painted in the brightest scarlet ; 
'T is the lover, the musician. 
And the meaning is, '^ My painting 
Makes me powerful over others." 

Then the figure seated, singing. 
Playing on a drum of magic. 
And the interpretation, ^' Listen ! 
'T is my voice you hear, my singing ! " 

Then the same red figure seated ^*" 

In the shelter of a wigwam. 
And the meaning of the symbol, 
" I will come and sit beside you 
In the mystery of my passion ! " 

Then two figures, man and woman, 
Standing hand in hand together. 



140 



150 



132 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Witli their hands so clasped together 
That they seem in one united, 
And the words thus represented 
Are, " I see your heart within yon. 
And your cheeks are red with blushes ! '^ 

"Next the maiden on an island, 
In the centre of an island ; 
And the song this shape suggested 
Was, " Though you were at a distance. 
Were upon some far-off island. 
Such the spell I cast upon you, 
Such 'the magic power of passion, 
I could straightway draw you to me ! " 

Then the figure of the maiden 
Sleeping, and the lover near her. 
Whispering to her in her slumbers. 
Saying, '' Though you were far from me 
In the land of Sleep and Silence, 
Still the voice of love would reach you ! " 
And the last of all the figures 
Was a heart within a circle. 
Drawn within a magic circle ; 
And the image had this meaning: 
" ^N'aked lies your heart before me, 
To your naked heart I whisper ! " 

Thus it was that Hiawatha, 
In his wisdom, taught the people 
All the mysteries of painting. 
All the art of Picture-Writing, 
On the smooth bark of the birch-tree. 
On the white skin of the reindeer. 
On the grave-posts of the village. 



Hiawatha's lamentation 133 



HIAWATHA'S LAMENTATIOK 

XV. 
In those days the Evil Spirits, 
All the Manitos of mischief, 
Fearing Hiawatha's wisdom, 
And his love for Chibiabos, 

Jealous of their faithful friendship, ^ 

And their noble words and actions, 
Made at length a league against them, 
To molest them and destroy them. 

Hiawatha, wise and wary, 
Often said to Chibiabos, ^® 

" O my brother ! do not leave me, 
Lest the Evil Spirits harm you ! " 
Chibiaos, young and heedless. 
Laughing shook his coal-black tresses, 
Answered ever sweet and childlike, ^^ 

" Do not fear for me, O brother ! 
Harm and evil come not near me ! " 

Once when Peboan, the Winter, 
Roofed with ice the Big-Sea-Water, 
When the snow-flakes, whirling downward. 
Hissed among the withered oak-leaves. 
Changed the pine-trees into wigwams. 
Covered all the earth with silence, — 
Armed with arrows, shod with snow-shoes. 
Heeding not his brother's warning. 
Fearing not the Evil Spirits, 
Forth to hunt the deer with antlers 



20 



25 



35 



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134 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

All alone went Chibiabos. 

Right across the Big-Sea- Water 
Sprang with speed the deer before him, ^^ 

With the wind and snow he followed, 
O'er the treacherous ice he followed, 
Wild with all the fierce commotion 
And the rapture of the hunting. 

But beneath, the Evil Spirits 
Lay in ambush, waiting for him. 
Broke the treacherous ice beneath him. 
Dragged him downward to the bottom. 
Buried in the sand his body. 
Unktahee, the god of water. 
He the god of the Dacotahs, 
Drowned him in the deep abysses 
Of the lake of Gitche Gumee. 

From the headlands Hiawatha 
Sent forth such a wail of anguish, ^^ 

Such a fearful lamentation. 
That the bison paused to listen. 
And the wolves howled from the prairies. 
And the thunder in the distance 
Woke and answered " Baim-wawa ! " ^^ 

Then his face with black he painted. 
With his robe his head he covered, 
In his wigwam sat lamenting, 
Seven long weeks he sat lamenting, 
Uttering still this moan of sorrow : — 

" He is dead, the sweet musician ! 
He the sweetest of all singers ! 
He has gone from us for ever, 



55 



Hiawatha's lamentation 1?5 

He has moved a little nearer 

To the Master of all music, ^^ 

To the Master of all singing! 

O my brother, Chibiabos ! '' 

And the melancholy fir-trees 
Waved their dark green fans above him. 
Waved their purple cones above him, ^^ 

Sighing with him to console him. 
Mingling with his lamentation 
Their complaining, their lamenting. 

Came the Spring, and all the forest 
Looked in vain for Chibiabos; "^^ 

Sighed the rivulet, Sebowisha, 
Sighed the rushes in the meadow. 

From the tree-tops sang the blue-bird. 
Sang the blue-bird, the Owaissa, 
" Chibiabos ! Chibiabos ! '^ 

He is dead, the sweet musician ! " 

From the wigwam sang the robin. 
Sang the Opechee, the robin, 
"Chibiabos! Chibiabos! 
He is dead, the sweetest singer ! " ^^ 

And at night through all the forest 
Went the whippoorwill complaining, 
Wailing went the Wawonaissa, 
" Chibiabos ! Chibiabos ! 

He is dead, the sweet musician ! ^^ 

He the sweetest of all singers ! " 

Then the medicine-men, the Medas, 
The magicians, the Wabenos, 
And the Jossakeeds, the prophets, 



136 THE CEAiq-E CLASSICS 

Came to visit Hiawatha; ^^ 

Built a Sacred Lodge beside him, 

To appease him, to console him, 

Walked in silent, grave procession, 

Bearing each a pouch of healing. 

Skin of beaver, lynx, or otter, ^^ 

rilled with magic roots and simples, 

Filled with very potent medicines. 

When he heard their steps approaching, 
Hiawatha ceased lamenting. 

Called no more on Chibiabos ; ^^° 

Naught he questioned, naught he answered. 
But his mournful head uncovered, 
From his face the mourning colors 
Washed he slowly and in silence, 
Slowly and in silence followed 
Onward to the Sacred Wigwam. 

There a magic drink they gave him, 
Made of l^ahma-wusk, the spearmint. 
And Wabeno-wusk, the yarrow, 
Roots of power, and herbs of healing ; 
Beat their drums, and shook their rattles ; 
Chanted singly and in chorus. 
Mystic songs like these, they chanted. 

" I myself, myself ! behold me ! 
'T is the great Gray Eagle talking ; ^^^ 

Come, ye white crows, come and hear him ! 
The loud-speaking thunder helps me ; 
All the unseen spirits help me ; 
I can hear their voices calling, 
All around the sky I hear them ! ^^^ 



105 



110 



Hiawatha's lamentatioit 137 

I can blow you strong, my brother, 
I can heal you, Hiawatha ! " 

" Hi-au-ba ! " replied the cborus, 
" Way-ba-way ! '' tbe mystic cborus. 

" Friends of mine are all tbe serpents ! ^^s 

Hear me sbake my skin of hen-bawk ! 
Mabng, tbe wbite loon, I can kill bim ; 
I can sboot your beart and kill it ! 
I can blow you strong, my brother, 
I can heal you, Hiawatha!" ^^^ 

" Hi-au-ba ! " replied tbe cborus. 
" Way-ba-way ! " the mystic cborus. 

" I myself, myself ! tbe prophet ! 
Wlien I speak, the wigwam trembles, 
Shakes the Sacred Lodge with terror, ^^^ 

Hands unseen begin to sbake it ! 
When I walk, tbe sky I tread on 
Bends and makes a noise beneath me ! 
I can blow you strong, my brother ! 
Else and speak, O Hiawatha ! " ^^^ 

" Hi-au-ba ! " replied tbe cborus, 
" Way-ba-way ! " tbe mystic cborus. 

Then they shook their medicine-pouches 
O'er the head of Hiawatha, 

Danced their medicine-dance around him; ^^^ 

And upstarting wild and haggard. 
Like a man from dreams awakened, 
He was healed of all his madness. 
As tbe clouds are swept from heaven, 
Straightway from his brain departed ^^^ 

All his moody melancholy ; 
As the ice is swept from rivers, 



138 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

Straightway from his heart departed 
All his sorrow and affliction. 

Then they summoned Chibiabos ^^^ 

From his grave beneath the waters, 
From the sands of Gitche Gumee 
Summoned Hiawatha's brother. 
And so mighty was the magic 

Of that cry and invocation, ^^^ 

That he heard it as he lay there 
Underneath the Big-Sea-Water ; 
From the sand he rose and listened. 
Heard the music and the singing. 
Came, obedient to the summons, ^^^ 

To the doorway of the wigwam. 
But to enter they forbade him. 

Through a chink a coal they gave him, 
Through the door a burning fire-brand; 
Ruler in the Land of Spirits, 
Ruler o'er the dead, they made him, 
Telling him a fire to kindle 
For all those that died thereafter. 
Camp-fires for their night encampments 
On their solitary journey 
To the kingdom of Ponemah, 
To the land of the Hereafter. 

From the village of his childhood. 
From the homes of those who knew him. 
Passing silent through the forest. 
Like a smoke-wreath wafted sideways, 
Slowly vanished Chibiabos ! 
Where he passed, the branches moved not. 
Where he trod, the grasses bent not. 



70 



175 



180 



139 



And the fallen leaves of last year ^^s 

Made no sound beneath his footsteps. 

Four whole days he journeyed onward 
Down the pathway of the dead men ; 
On the dead-man's strawberry feasted, 
Crossed the melancholy river, ^^^ 

On the swinging log he crossed it. 
Came unto the Lake of Silver, 
In the Stone Canoe was carried 
To the Islands of the Blessed, 
To the land of ghosts and shadows. ^^^ 

On that journey, moving slowly. 
Many weary spirits saw he. 
Panting under heavy burdens. 
Laden with war-clubs, bows and arrows. 
Robes of fur, and pots and kettles, ^^^ 

And with food that friends had given 
For that solitary journey. 

"Ah ! why do the living," said they, 
" Lay such heavy burdens on us ! 
Better were it to go naked, 
Better were it to go fasting, 
Than to bear such heavy burdens 
On our long and weary journey ! " 

Forth then issued Hiawatha, 
Wandered eastward, wandered westward, 
Teaching men the use of simples 
And the antidotes for poisons. 
And the cure of all diseases. 
Thus was first made kno^m to mortals 
All the mystery of Mondamin, 
All the sacred art of healing. 



205 



210 



215 



140 THE CEANE CLASSICS 



PAU-PUK-KEEWIS. 

XVI. 

You shall hear how Pau-Puk-Keewis 
He, the handsome Yenadizze, 
Whom the people called the Storm Fool, 
Vexed the village with disturbance ; 
You shall hear of all his mischief. 
And his flight from Hiawatha, 
And his wondrous transmigrations. 
And the end of his adventures. 

On the shores of Gitche Gumee, 
On the dunes of I^agow Wudjoo, 
By the shining Big-Sea-Water 
Stood the lodge of Pau-Puk-Keewis. 
It was he who in his frenzy 
Whirled these drifting sands together, 
On the dunes of ^N'agow Wudjoo, ^^ 

When, among the guests assembled. 
He so merrily and madly 
Danced at Hiawatha's wedding. 
Danced the Beggar's Dance to please them. 

l!^ow, in search of new adventures, ^^ 

From his lodge went Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Came with speed into the village. 
Pound the young men all assembled 
In the lodge of old lagoo. 
Listening to his monstrous stories, 
To his wonderful adventures. 

He was telling them the story 



10 



25 



PAU-PUK-KEEWIS 141 

Of Ojeeg, the Summer-Maker, 

How he made a hole in heaven, 

How he climbed up into heaven, ^° 

And let out the Summer-weather, 

The perpetual, pleasant Summer; 

How the Otter first essayed it ; . 

How the Beaver, Lynx, and Badger 

Tried in turn the great achievement, ^^ 

From the summit of the mountain 

Smote their fists against the heavens. 

Smote against the sky their foreheads. 

Cracked the sky but could not break it ; 

How the Wolverine, uprising, ^^ 

Made him ready for the encounter. 

Bent his knees down, like a squirrel, 

Drew his arms back, like a cricket. 

" Once he leaped,'' said old lagoo, 
" Once he leaped, and lo ! above him *' 

Bent the sky, as ice in rivers 
When the waters rise beneath it ; 
Twice he leaped, and lo ! above him 
Cracked the sky, as ice in rivers 
When the freshet is at highest ! • bo 

Thrice he leaped, and lo ! above him 
Broke the shattered sky asunder, 
And he disappeared within it. 
And Ojeeg, the Fisher Weasel, 
With a bound went in behind him ! " ^^ 

" Hark you ! " shouted Pau-Puk-Keewis 
As he entered at the doorway ; 
" I am tired of all this talking, 



142 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

Tired of old lagoo's stories, 
Tired of Hiawatha's wisdom. 
Here is sometliing to amuse you, 
Better than this endless talking." 

Then from out his pouch of wolf-skin 
Forth he drew, with solemn manner, 
All the game of Bowl and Counters, 
Pugasaing, with thirteen pieces. 
White on one side were they painted, 
And vermilion on the other; 
Two Kenabeeks or great serpents. 
Two Ininewug or wedge-men, 
One great war-club, Pugamaugun, 
And one slender fish, the Keego, 
Four round pieces, Ozawabeeks, 
And three Sheshebwug or ducklings. 
All w^ere made of bone and painted. 
All except the Ozawabeeks ; 
These were brass, on one side burnished, 
And were black upon the other. 

In a wooden bowl he placed them. 
Shook and jostled them together. 
Threw them on the ground before him, 
Thus exclaiming and explaining : 
" Red side up are all the pieces. 
And one great Kenabeek standing 
On the bright side of a brass piece, 
On a burnished Ozawabeek; 
Thirteen tens and eight are counted.'^ 

Then again he shook the pieces, 
Shook and jostled them together. 



7c 



80 



85 



95 



100 



PAU-PUK-KEEWIS 143 

Threw tliem on the ground before him, ^^ 

Still exclaiming and explaining: 

" AYliite are both the great Kenabeeks, 

White the Ininewng, the wedge-men, 

Red are all the other pieces ; 

Five tens and an eight are counted." 

Thus he taught the game of hazard, 
Thus displayed it and explained it. 
Running through its various chances. 
Various changes, various meanings : 
Twenty curious eyes stared at him, 
Full of eagerness stared at him. 

" Many games," said old lagoo, 
" Many games of skill and hazard 
Have I seen in different nations, 
Have I played in different countries. 
He who plays with old lagoo 
Must have very nimble fingers ; 
Though you think yourself so skilful 
I can beat you, Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
I can even give you lessons *^° 

In your game of Bowl and Counters ! " 

So they sat and played together, 
All the old men and the young men, 
Played for dresses, weapons, wampum, 
Played till midnight, played till morning. 
Played until the Yenadizze, 
Till the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Of their treasures had despoiled them. 
Of the best of all their dresses, 
Shirts of deer-skin, robes of ermine, 



105 



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144 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Belts of wampum, crests of feathers, 
Warlike weapons, pipes and pouches. 
Twenty eyes glared wildly at liim, 
Like the eyes of wolves glared at him. 

Said the kicky Pau-Puk-Keewis : 
" In my wigwam I am lonely. 
In my wanderings and adventures 
I have need of a companion, 
Fain would have a Meshinauwa, 
An attendant and pipe-bearer. 
I will venture all these winnings. 
All these garments heaped about me. 
All this wampum, all these feathers. 
On a single throw will venture 
All against the young man yonder ! " 
'T was a youth of sixteen summers, 
'T was a nephew of lagoo ; 
Pace-in-a-Mist, the people called him. 

As the fire burns in a pipe-head 
Dusky red beneath the ashes. 
So beneath his shaggy eyebrows 
Glowed the eyes of old lagoo. 
^^ Ugh ! '' he answered very fiercely ; 
" Ugh ! " they answered all and each one. 

Seized the wooden bowl the old man. 
Closely in his bony fingers 
Clutched the fatal bowl, Onagon, 
Shook it fiercely and with fury, 
Made the pieces ring together 
As he" threw them down before him. 

Eed were both the great Kenabeeks, 



130 



165 



-10 



PAU-PUK-KEEWIS 145 

Red the Tninewug, the wedge-men, 

Red the Sheshebwiig, the ducklings, 

Black the four brass Ozawabeeks, 

White alone the fish, the Keego; ^^^ 

Only five the pfeces counted ! 

Then the smiling Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Shook the bowl and threw the pieces ; 
Lightly in the air he tossed them. 
And thev fell about him scattered ; ^^^ 

Dark and bright the Ozawabeeks, 
Red and white the other pieces, 
And upright among the others 
One Ininewug was standing. 
Even as crafty Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Stood alone among the players, 
Saying, " Five tens ! mine the game is ! '' 

Twenty eyes glared at him fiercely, 
Like the. eyes of wolves glared at him. 
As he turned and left the wigwam, 
Followed by his Meshinauwa, 
By the nephew of lagoo. 
By the tall and graceful stripling. 
Bearing in his arms the winnings, 
Shirts of deer-skin, robes of ermine, 
Belts of wampum, pipes and weapons. 

" Carry them,'' said Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Pointing with his fan of feathers, 
" To my wigwam far to eastward. 
On the dunes of 'Nagow Wudjoo ! " 

Hot and red with smoke and gambling 
Were the eyes of Pau-Puk-Keewis 



170 



175 



180 



146 THE CEAN"E CLASSICS 

As he came fortli to tlie freshness 
Of the pleasant Summer morning. 
All the birds were singing gayly, 
All the streamlets flowing swiftly, 
And the heart of Pau-Puk-I^ewis 
Sang with pleasure as the birds sing, 
Beat with triumph like the streamlets, 
As he wandered through the village. 
In the early gray of morning. 
With his fan of turkey-feathers. 
With his plumes and tufts of swan's down, 
Till he reached the farthest wigwam, 
Eeached the lodge of Hiawatha. 

Silent was it and deserted ; 
"No one met him at the doorway, 
"No one came to bid him welcome ; 
But the birds were singing round it. 
In and out and round the doorway, 
Hopping, singing, fluttering, feeding. 
And aloft upon the ridge-pole 
Kahgahgee, the King of Havens, 
Sat with fiery eyes, and, screaming 
Flapped his wings at Pau-Puk-Keewis. 

"All are gone ! the lodge is empty ! " 
Thus it was spake Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
In his heart resolving mischief ; — 
" Gone is wary Hiawatha, 
Gone the silly Laughing Water, 
Gone ITokomis, the old woman. 
And the lodge is left unguarded ! " 

By the neck he seized the raven, 



185 



190 



195 



200 



210 



PAXJ-PUK-KEEWIS 147 

Wliirled it round liim like a rattle, 

Like a medicine-poncli he shook it, 215 

Strangled Kahgahgee, the raven. 

From the ridge-pole of the wigwam 

Left its lifeless body hanging, 

As an insult to its master, 

As a taunt to Hiawatha. 220 

With a stealthy step he entered, 
Eound the lodge in wild disorder 
Threw the household things about him. 
Piled together in confusion 

Bowls of wood and earthen kettles, ^^^ 

Robes of buffalo and beaver. 
Skins of otter, lynx, and ermine. 
As an insult to ISTokomis, 
As a taunt to Minnehaha. 

Then departed Pau-Puk-Keewis, ^^^ 

Whistling, singing through the forest, 
Whistling gayly to the squirrels. 
Who from hollow boughs above him 
Dropped their acorn-shells upon him, 
Singing gayly to the wood-birds. 
Who from out the leafy darkness 
Answered with a song as merry. 

Then he climbed the rocky headlands, 
Looking o'er the Gitche Gumee, 
Perched himself upon their summit, 
Waiting full of mirth and mischief 
The return of Hiawatha. 

Stretched upon his back he lay there ; 
Far below him plashed the waters. 



235 



240 



148 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

Plashed and washed the dreamy waters ; ^45 

Far above him swam the heavens, 

Swam the dizzy, dreamy heavens ; 

Round him hovered, fluttered, rustled, 

Hiawatha's mountain chickens, 

Flock- wise swept and wheeled about him, ^^^ 

Almost brushed him with their pinions. 

And he killed them as he lay there. 
Slaughtered them by tens and twenties. 
Threw their bodies down the headland, 
Threw them on the beach below him, ^^^ 

Till at length Kayoshk, the sea-gull, 
Perched upon a crag above them, 
Shouted : " It is Pau-Puk-Keewis ! 
He is slaying us by hundreds ! 
Send a message to our brother, 
Tidings send to Hiawatha ! " 



260 



THE HUITTING OF PAU-PUK-KEEWIS 149 



THE HUNTmG OF PAU-PUK-KEEWIS. 

XVII. 

EuLL of wrath was Hiawatlia 

When lie came into the village, 

Found the people in confusion, 

Heard of all the misdemeanors, 

All the malice and the mischief, ^ 

Of the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis. 

Hard his breath came through his nostrils, 
Through his teeth he buzzed and muttered 
Words of anger and resentment, 
Hot and humming, like a hornet. ^^ 

" I will slay this Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Slay this mischief-maker ! " said he. 
" JSTot so long and wide the world is, 
E'ot so rude and rough the way is. 
That my wrath shall not attain him, ^^ 

That my vengeance shall not reach him ! " 

Then in swift pursuit departed 
Hiawatha and the hunters 
On the trail of Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Through the forest, where he passed it, ^^ 

To the headlands where he rested ; 
But they found not Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Only in the trampled grasses. 
In the whortleberry-bushes. 

Found the couch where he had rested, ^^ 

Found the impress of his body. 

From the lowlands far beneath them, 



150 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

From the Muskodaj, the meadow, 
Pau-Puk-Keewis, turning backward, 
Made a gesture of defiance, 
Made a gesture of derision ; 
And aloud cried Hiawatha, 
From the summit of the mountain : 
" ]^ot so long and wide the world is 
!t^ot so rude and rough the way is, 
But my wrath shall overtake you. 
And my vengeance shall attain you ! " 

Over rock and over river, 
Thorough bush, and brake, and forest, 
Ean the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis ; 
Like an antelope he bounded. 
Till he came unto a streamlet 
In the middle of the forest. 
To a streamlet still and tranquil. 
That had overflowed its margin. 
To a dam made by the beavers. 
To a pond of quiet water, 
Where knee-deep the trees were standing. 
Where the water-lilies floated. 
Where the rushes waved and whispered. 

On the dam stood Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
On the dam of trunks and branches. 
Through whose chinks the water spouted. 
O'er whose summit flowed the streamlet. 
From the bottom rose a beaver. 
Looked with two great eyes of wonder, 
Eyes that seemed to ask a question. 
At the stranger, Pau-Puk-Keewis. 



30 



45 



THE HUN"TIN-G OF PAU-PUK-KEEWIS 151 

On the dam stood Pau-Piik-Keewis, 
O'er his ankles flowed the streamlet, ^^ 

Flowed the bright and silvery water, 
And he spake unto the beaver, 
With a smile he spake in this wise: 
^' O my friend Ahmeek, the beaver. 
Cool and pleasant is the water; ^^ 

Let me dive into the water. 
Let me rest there in your lodges; 
Change me, too, into a beaver ! " 
Cautiously replied the beaver, 
With reserve he thus made answer : — "^^ 

" Let me first consult the others. 

Let me ask the other beavers." 

Down he sank into the water. 

Heavily sank he, as a stone sinks, 

Down among the leaves and branches. 

Brown and matted at the bottom. 
On the dam stood Pau-Puk-Keewis, 

O'er his ankles flowed the streamlet. 

Spouted through the chinks below him, 

Dashed upon the stones beneath him, ^^ 

Spread serene and calm before him. 

And the sunshine and the shadows 

Fell in flecks and gleams upon him. 

Fell in little shining patches, 

Through the waving, rustling branches. 
From the bottom rose the beavers. 

Silently above the surface 

Pose one head and then another. 

Till the pond seemed full of beavers, 



75 



85 



152 THE CRAiq-E CLASSICS 

Full of black and shining faces. ^^ 

To tlie beavers Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Spake entreating, said in tliis wise: 
" Very pleasant is your dwelling, 
O my friends ! and safe from danger ; 
Can you not witb all your cunning, ^^ 

All your wisdom and contrivance, 
Change me, too, into a beaver ? " 

" Yes ! " replied Abmeek, the beaver, 
He the King of all the beavers, 
'' Let yourself slide down among us, ^^^ 

Down into the tranquil water.'' 

Down into the pond among them 
Silently sank Pau-Puk-Keewis ; 
Black became his shirt of deer-skin. 
Black his moccasons and leggings, ^^^ 

In a broad black tail behind him 
Spread his fox-tails and his fringes ; 
He was changed into a beaver. ^ 

" Make me large," said Pau-Puk-Keewis, % 

" Make me large and make me larger, ^^^ 

Larger than the other beavers." 
"Yes," the beaver chief responded, 
" When our lodge below you enter, 
In our wigwam we will make you 
Ten times larger than the others." ^^^ 

Thus into the clear, bro^\Ti water 
Silently sank Pau-Puk-Keewis ; 
Pound the bottom covered over 
With the trunks of trees and branches 
Hoards of food against the winter, ^^^ 



THE HUNTING OF PATJ-PUK-KEEWIS 

Piles and heaps against the famine, 
Found the lodge with arching doorway, 
Leading into spacious chambers. 

Here they made him large and larger, 
Made him largest of the beavers, 
' Ten times larger than the others. 
"You shall be our ruler," said they; 
" Chief and king of all the beavers." 
But not long had Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Sat in state among the beavers. 
When there came a voice of warning 
Prom the watchman at his station 
In the water-flags and lilies, 
Saying, " Here is Hiawatha ! 
Hiawatha with his hunters ! " 

Then they heard a cry above them, 
Heard a shouting and a tramping. 
Heard a crashing and a rushing, 
And the water round and o'er them 
Sank and sucked away in eddies. 
And they knew their dam was broken. 

On the lodge's roof the hunters 
Leaped, and broke it all asunder ; 
Streamed the sunshine through the crevice, 
Sprang the beavers through the doorway. 
Hid themselves in deeper water. 
In the channel of the streamlet ; 
But the mighty Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Could not pass beneath the doorway ; 
He was puffed with pride and feeding. 
He was swollen like a bladder. 



153 



125 



130 



135 



140 



145 



150 



154 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Through the roof looked Hiawatha, 
Cried aloud, "0 Pau-Puk-Keewis ! 
Vain are all your craft and cunning, 
Vain your manifold disguises ! ^^^ 

Well I know you, Pau-Puk-Keewis ! " 

With their clubs they beat and bruised him, 
Beat to death poor Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Pounded him as maize is pounded. 
Till his skull was crushed to pieces. ^^^ 

Six tall hunters, lithe and limber. 
Bore him home on poles and branches. 
Bore the body of the beaver ; 
But the ghost, the Jeebi in him. 
Thought and felt as Pau-Puk-Keewis, ^^^ 

Still lived on as Pau-Puk-Keewis. 

And it fluttered, strove, and struggled. 
Waving hither, waving thither. 
As the curtains of a wigwam 

Struggle with their thongs of deer-skin, ^"^^ 

When the wintry wind is blowing; 
Till it drew itself together. 
Till it rose up from the body, 
Till it took the form and features 
Of the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis, ^^^ 

Vanishing into the forest. 

But the wary Hiawatha 
Saw the figure ere it vanished. 
Saw the form of Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Glide into the soft blue shadow ^^^ 

Of the pine-trees of the forest ; 
Toward the squares of white beyond it, 



190 



195 



THE HUNTING OF PAU-PUK-KEEWIS 155 

Toward an opening in the forest, 

Like a wind it rushed and panted, 

Bending all the boiighs before it, ^^^ 

And behind it, as the rain comes. 

Came the steps of Hiawatha. 

To a lake with many islands 
Came the breathless Pau-Puk-Keewis, , 
Where among the water-lilies 
Pishnekuh, the brant, were sailing ; 
Through the tufts of rushes floating, 
Steering through the reedy islands. 
!N'ow their broad black beaks they lifted, 
'No^Y they plunged beneath the water, 
Xow they darkened in the shadow, 
Now they brightened in the sunshine. 

" Pishnekuh ! '^ cried Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
'^ Pishnekuh ! my brothers ! " said he, 
^' Change me to a brant with plumage, 
With a shining neck and feathers. 
Make me large, and make me larger, 
Ten times larger than the others." 

Straightway to a brant they changed him, 
With two huge and dusky pinions, ^^^ 

With a bosom smooth and rounded. 
With a bill like two great paddles. 
Made him larger than the others. 
Ten times larger than the largest. 
Just as, shouting from the forest, ^^^ 

On the shore stood Hiawatha. 

Up they rose with cry and clamor, 
With a whirr and beat of pinions. 



200 



220 



225 



156 THE CEAITE CLASSICS 

Eose up from the reedy islands, 

From the water-flags and lilies. ^^^ 

And they said to Pau-Puk-Keewis : 

" In your flying, look not downward, 

Take good heed, and look not downward. 

Lest some strange mischance should happen. 

Lest some great mishap befall you ! " 

Past and far they fled to northward. 
Past and far through mist and sunshine, 
Ped among the moors and fen-lands. 
Slept among the reeds and rushes. 

On the morrow as they journeyed, 
Buoyed and lifted by the South-wind, 
Wafted onward by the South-wind, 
Blowing fresh and strong behind them, 
Eose a sound of human voices, 
Eose a clamor from beneath them, ^^^ 

Prom the lodges of a village. 
Prom the people miles beneath them. 

Por the people of the village 
Saw the flock of brant with wonder. 
Saw the wings of Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Plapping far up in the ether, 
Broader than two doorway curtains. 

Pau-Puk-Keewis heard the shouting, 
Knew the voice of Hiawatha, 
Knew the outcry of lagoo. 
And, forgetful of the warning, 
Drew his neck in, and looked downward. 
And the wind that blew behind 
Caught his mighty fan of feathers, 



235 



240 



THE HUNTING OF PAU-PUK-KEEWIS 157 



245 



Sent him wheeling, whirling downward ! 

All in vain did Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Struggle to regain his balance ! 
Whirling round and round and downward, 
He beheld in turn the village 

And in turn the flock above him, ^'^ 

Saw the village coming nearer, 
And the flock receding farther. 
Heard the voices growing louder, 
Heard the shouting and the laughter ; 
Saw no more the flock above him, ^^,^ 

Only saw the earth beneath him ; 
Dead out of the empty heaven. 
Dead among the shouting people. 
With a heavy sound and sullen. 
Fell the brant with broken pinions. ^^^ 

But his soul, his ghost, his shadow, 
Still survived as Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Took again the form and features 
Of the handsome Yenadizze, 

And again went rushing onward, ^^^ 

Followed fast by Hiawatha, 
Crying : " !N"ot so wide the world is, 
Not so long and rough the way is. 
But my wrath shall overtake you. 
But my vengeance shall attain you ! " ^'^^ 

And so near he came, so near him, 
That his hand was stretched to seize him. 
His right hand to seize and hold him. 
When the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Whirled and spun about in circles, ^^^^ 



280 



285 



158 THE CRAITE CLASSICS 

Fanned tlie air into a whirlwind, 
Danced the dust and leaves about him, 
And amid the whirling eddies 
Sprang into a hollow oak-tree, 
Changed himself into a serpent, 
Gliding out through root and rubbish. 

With his right hand Hiawatha 
Smote amain the hollow oak-tree, 
Rent it into shreds and splinters. 
Left it lying there in fragments. . 
But in vain ; for Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Once again in human figure, 
Full in sight ran on before him, 
Sped away in gust and whirlwind, 
On the shores of Gitche Gumee, ^^^ 

Westward by the Big-Sea-Water, 
Came unto the rocky headlands. 
To the Pictured Bocks of sandstone, 
Looking over lake and landscape. 

And the Old Man of the Mountain, 295 

He the Manito of Mountains, 
Opened wide his rocky doorways. 
Opened wide his deep abysses, 
Giving Pau-Puk-Keewis shelter 
In his caverns dark and dreary, soo 

Bidding Pau-Puk-Keewis welcome 
To his gloomy lodge of sandstone. 

There without stood Hiawatha, 
Found the doorways closed against him, 
With his mittens, Minjekahwun, sos 

Smote great caverns in the sandstone. 



THE HUNTING OF PAU-PUK-KEEWIS 159 

Cried aloud in tones of thunder, 

" Open ! I am Hiawatha ! '' 

But the Old Man of the Mountain 

Opened not, and made no answer sio 

From the silent crags of sandstone, 

From the gloomy rock abysses. 

Then he raised his hands to heaven, 
Called imploring on the tempest, 
Called Waywassimo, the lightning, ^^^ 

And the thunder, Annemeekee ; 
And they came with night and darkness, 
Sweeping down the Big-Sea-Water 
From the distant Thunder Mountains ; 
And the trembling Pau-Puk-Keewis ^^^ 

Heard the footsteps of the thunder, 
Saw the red eyes of the lightning, 
Was afraid, and crouched and trembled. 

Then WayAvassimo, the lightning. 
Smote the doorways of the caverns, ^^^ 

With his war-club smote the doorways. 
Smote the jutting crags of sandstone, 
And the thunder, Annemeekee, • 
Shouted down into the caverns. 
Saying, '' Where is Pau-Puk-Keewis ! " 
And the crags fell, and beneath them 
Dead among the rocky ruins 
Lay the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Lay the handsome Yenadizze, 
Slain in his own human figure. 

Ended were his wild adventures. 
Ended were his tricks and gambols, 



330 



335 



160 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Ended all liis craft and cunning, 

Ended all his mischief-making, 

All his gambling and his dancing, ^^^ 

All his wooing of the maidens. 

Then the noble Hiawatha 
Took his soul, his ghost, his shadow, 
Spake and said : " O Pau-Puk-Keewis ! 
INTever more in human figure ^^^ 

Shall you search for new adventures ; 
Xever more with jest and laughter 
Dance the dust and leaves in whirlwinds; 
But above there in the heavens 
You shall soar and sail in circles ; ^^^ 

I will change you to an eagle, 
To Keneu, the great War-Eagle, 
Chief of all the fowls with feathers, 
Chief of Hiawatha's chickens." 

And the name of Pau-Puk-Keewis ^^^ 

Lingers still among the people, 
Lingers still among the singers, 
And among the story-tellers ; 
And in Winter, when the snow-flakes 
Whirl in eddies round the lodges, ^^^ 

When the wind in gusty tumult 
O'er the smoke-flue pipes and whistles, 
" There," they cry, " comes Pau-Puk-Keewis ; 
He is dancing through the village. 
He is gathering in his harvest ! " ^^' 



10 



—11 



d^iiE DEATH OF KWASIITD 161 



THE DEATH OE KWASIND. 

XVIII. 

Far and wide among tlie nations 
Spread the name and fame of Kwasind ; 
Kg man dared to strive with Kwasind, 
'No man could compete with Kwasind. 
But the mischievous Puk-Wudjies, 
They the envious Little People, 
They the fairies and the pigmies, 
Plotted and conspired against him. 

" If this hateful Kwasind," said they, 
" If this great, outrageous fellow 
Goes on thus a little longer. 
Tearing everything he touches. 
Rending everything to pieces. 
Filling all the world with wonder. 
What becomes of the Puk-Wudjies ? ^^ 

Who will care for the Puk-Wudj ies ? 
He will tread us down like mushrooms, 
Drive us all into the water. 
Give our bodies to be eaten 

By the wicked ^^Tee-ba-naw-baigs, 20 

By the Spirits of the water ! " 

So the angry Little People 
All conspired against the Strong Man, 
All conspired to murder Kwasind, 
Yes, to rid the world of Kwasind, 
The audacious, overbearing, 
Heartless, haughty, dangerous Kwasind ! ' 



25 



162 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

"Now tliis wonclroTis strength of Kwasind 
In his crown alone was seated ; 
In his crown too was his weakness ; ^^ 

There alone conld he be wounded, 
IsTowhere else could weapon pierce him, 
ISTowhere else could weapon harm him. 

Even there the only weapon 
That could wound him, that could slay him, ^^ 

Was the seed-cone of the pine-tree. 
Was the blue cone of the fir-tree. 
This was Kwasind's fatal secret, 
Known to no man among mortals ; 
But the cunning Little People, ^^ 

The Puk-Wudjies, knew the secret, 
Knew the only way to kill him. 

So they gathered cones together, 
Gathered seed-cones of the pine-tree. 
Gathered blue cones of the fir-tree, *^ 

In the woods by Taquamenaw, 
Brought them to the river's margin. 
Heaped them in great piles together. 
Where the red rocks from the margin 
Jutting overhang the river. ^^ 

There they lay in wait for Kwasind, 
The malicious Little People. 

'T was an afternoon in Summer; 
Very hot and still the air was. 

Very smooth the gliding river, ^^ 

Motionless the sleeping shadows : 
Insects glistened in the sunshine, 
Insects skated on the water, 



^HE BEATII OF KWASIND 163 

Filled the drowsy air witli buzzing, 

With a far-resounding war-cry. ^^ 

Down the river came the Strong Man, 
In his birch-canoe came Kwasind, 
Floating slowly down the current 
Of the sluggish Taquamenaw, 
Very languid with the weather, ^^ 

Very sleepy with the silence. 

From the overhanging branches, 
From the tassels of the birch-trees. 
Soft the Spirit of Sleep descended ; 
By his airy hosts surrounded, '^^ 

His invisible attendants, 
Came the Spirit of Sleep, iN'epahwin ; 
Like the burnished Dush-kwo-ne-she, 
Like a dragon-fly, he hovered 
O'er the drowsy head of Kwasind. '^^ 

To his ear there came a murmur 
As of waves upon a sea-shore. 
As of far-off tumbling waters, 
As of winds among the pine-trees ; 
And he felt upon his forehead ®^ 

Blows of little airy war-clubs. 
Wielded by the slumbrous legions 
Of the Spirit of Sleep, E'epahwin, 
As of some one breathing on him. 

At the first blow of their war-clubs ®^ 

Fell a drowsiness on Kwasind ; 
At the second blow they smote him, 
Motionless his paddle rested ; 
At the third, before his vision 



100 



164 THE CEAl^E CLASSICS 

Eeeled tlie landscape into darkness, 
Very sound asleep was Kwasind. 

So lie floated down the river, 
Like a blind man seated upright, 
Floated down the Taquamenaw, 
Underneath the trembling birch-trees. 
Underneath the wooded headlands. 
Underneath the war encampment 
Of the pigmies, the Puk-Wudjies. 

There they stood, all armed and waiting, 
Hurled the pine-cones down upon him. 
Struck him on his brawny shoulders. 
On his crown defenceless struck him. 
" Death to Kwasind ! " was the sudden 
War-cry of the Little People. 

And he sideways swayed and tumbled. 
Sideways fell into the river, 
Plunged beneath the sluggish water 
Headlong, as an otter plunges ; 
And the birch-canoe, abandoned. 
Drifted empty down the river, 
Bottom upward swerved and drifted : 
^Nothing more was seen of Kwasind. 

But the memory of the Strong Man 
Lingered long among the people. 
And whenever through the forest ^^^ 

Baged and roared the wintry tempest, 
And the branches, tossed and troubled. 
Creaked and groaned and split asunder, 
" Kwasind ! " cried they ; " that is Kwasind ! 
He is gathering in his fire-wood ! " ^^o 



105 



110 



THE GHOSTS 165 



THE GHOSTS. 

XIX. 

ISTever stoops the soaring vulture 

On his quarry in the desert, 

On the sick or wounded bison, 

But another vulture, watching 

From his high aerial look-out. 

Sees the downward plunge, and follows; 

And a third pursues the second. 

Coming from the invisible ether, 

First a speck, and then a vulture. 

Till the air is dark with pinions. 

So disasters come not singly ; 
But as if they watched and waited, 
Scanning one another's motions. 
When the first descends, the others 
Follow, follow, gathering flock-wise ^^ 

Bound their victim sick and wounded, 
First a shadow, then a sorrow. 



10 



Till the air is dark with anguish. 

N"ow, o'er all the dreary ISTorth-land, 
Mighty Peboan, the Winter, 
Breathing on the lakes and rivers, 
Into stone had changed their waters. 
From his hair he shook the snow-flakes. 
Till the plains were strewn with whiteness, 
One uninterrupted level. 
As if, stooping, the Creator 
With his hand had smoothed them over. 



20 



25 



30 



40 



166 THE CRAl^E CLASSICS 

ThroiTgli the forest, wide and wailing, 
Roamed tlie hunter on his snow-shoes ; 
In the village worked the women, 
Pounded maize, or dressed the deer-skin ; 
And the young men played together 
On the ice the noisy ball-play. 
On the plain the dance of snow-shoes. 

One dark evening, after sundown, 
In her wigwam Laughing Water 
Sat with old ISTokomis, waiting 
For the steps of Hiawatha 
Homeward from the hunt "returning. 

On their faces gleamed the fire-light. 
Painting them with streaks of crimson, 
In the eyes of old Nokomis 
Glimmered like the watery moonlight. 
In the eyes of Laughing Water 
Glistened like the sun in water ; 
And behind them crouched their shadows 
In the corners of the wigwam, 
And the smoke in wreaths above them 
Climbed and crowded through the smoke-flue. 

Then the curtain of the doorway ^^ 

Prom without was slowly lifted ; 
Brighter glowed the fire a moment, 
And a moment swerved the smoke-wreath. 
As two women entered softly. 

Passed the doorway uninvited, ^^ 

Without word of salutation, 
Without sign of recognition. 
Sat down in the farthest corner, • 



i 



45 



- - THE GHOSTS 167 

Crouching low among the shadows. 

From their aspect and their garments, ^^ 

Strangers seemed they in the village ; 
Very pale and haggard were they, 
As they sat there sad and silent. 
Trembling, cowering with the shadows. 

Was it the wind above the smoke-flue, ^' 

Muttering down into the wigwam ? 
Was it the owl, the Koko-koho, 
Hooting from the dismal forest ? 
Sure a voice said in the silence : 
" These are corpses clad in garments, "^^ 

These are ghosts that come to haunt you. 
From the kingdom of Ponemah, 
From the land of the Hereafter ! '' 

Homeward now came Hiawatha 
From his hunting in the forest, "^^ 

With the snow upon his tresses, 
And the red deer on his shoulders. 
At the feet of Laughing Water 
Down he threw his lifeless burden ; 
l^obler, handsomer she thought him, ^^ 

Than when first he came to woo her, 
First threw down the deer before her, 
As a token of his wishes, 
As a promise of the future. 

Then he turned and saw the strangers. 
Cowering, crouching with the shadows ; 
Said within himself, '^ Who are they ? 
What strange guests has Minnehaha ? " 
But he questioned not the strangers. 



85 



168 THE CRANE CLASSICS 



90 



95 



100 



Only spake to bid them welcome 
To his lodge, his food, his fireside. 

When the evening meal was ready, 
And the deer had been divided, 
Both the pallid guests, the strangers. 
Springing from among the shadows. 
Seized npon the choicest portions. 
Seized the white fat of the roebuck 
Set apart for Laughing Water, 
For the wife of Hiawatha ; 
Without asking, without thanking. 
Eagerly devoured the morsels, 
Flitted back among the shadows 
In the corner of the wigwam. 

"Not a word spake Hiawatha, ■ 
iNot a motion made Kokomis, 
'Not a gesture Laughing Water ; 
!N'ot a change came o'er their features ; 
Only Minnehaha softly 
Whispered, saying, ^' They are famished ; 
Let them do what best delights them; ^^^ 

Let them eat, for they are famished.'' 

Many a daylight dawned and darkened. 
Many a night shook off the daylight 
As the pine shakes off the snow-flakes 
From the midnight of its branches ; *^' 

Day by day the guests unmoving 
Sat there silent in the wigwam ; 
But by night, in storm or starlight, 
Forth they went into the forest. 
Bringing fire-wood to the wigwam, *^^ 



105 



THE GHOSTS 169 

Bringing pine-cones for the burning, 
Always sad and always silent. 

And whenever Hiawatha 
Came from fishing or from hunting, 
When the evening meal was ready, ^^^ 

And the food had been divided. 
Gliding from their darksome corner 
Came the pallid guests, the strangers. 
Seized upon the choicest portions 
Set aside for Laughing Water, ^^^ 

And without rebuke or question 
Flitted back among the shadow^. ' 

E'ever once had Hiawatha 
By a word or look reproved them ; 
!N'ever once had old Xokomis ^^^ 

Made a gesture of impatience; 
I^ever once had Laughing Water 
Shown resentment at the outrage. 
All had they endured in silence. 
That the rights of guest and stranger, ^^^ 

That the virtue of free-giving. 
By a look might not be lessened. 
By a word might not be broken. 

Once at midnight Hiawatha, 
Ever wakeful, ever watchful, 
In the wigwam, dimly lighted 
By the brands that still were burning. 
By the glimmering, flickering fire-light. 
Heard a sighing, oft repeated, 
Heard a sobbing, as of sorrow. 

From his couch rose Hiawatha, 



145 



150 



170 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

From his shaggy hides of bison, 

Pushed aside the deer-skin curtain, 

Saw the pallid guests, the shadows, 

Sitting upright on their couches, ^^^ 

Weeping in the silent midnight. 

And he said : " guests ! why is it 
That your hearts are so afflicted. 
That you sob so in the midnight ? 
Has perchance the old J^okomis, ^^^ 

Has my wife, my Minnehaha, 
Wronged or grieved you by unkindness. 
Failed in hospitable duties ? " 

Then the shadows ceased from weeping, 
Ceased from sobbing and lamenting, ^^^ 

And they said, with gentle voices : 
'' We are ghosts of the departed. 
Souls of those who once were with you. 
From the realms of Chibiabos 
Hither have we come to try you, ^^'^ 

Hither have we come to warn you. 

" Cries of grief and lamentation 
Reach us in the Blessed Islands ; 
Cries of anguish from the living, 
Calling back their friends departed, ^'^^ 

Sadden us with useless sorrow. 
Therefore have we come to try you ; 
ISTo one knows us, no one heeds us. 
We are but a burden to you. 

And we see that the departed ^^^ 

Have no place among the living. 

'' Think of this, Hiawatha ! 



THE GHOSTS 171 

Speak of it to all the people, 

That henceforward and for ever 

They no more with lamentations ^*' 

Sadden the souls of the departed 

In the Islands of the Blessed. 

" Do not lay such heavy burdens 
In the graves of those you bury, 
E'ot such weight of furs and wampum, ^^^ 

l^ot such weigh,t of pots and kettles, 
For the spirits faint beneath them. 
Only give them food to carry. 
Only give them fire to light them. 

^^ Four days is the spirit's journey ^^^ 

To the land of ghosts and shadows, 
Four its lonely night encampments ; 
Four times must their fires be lighted. 
Therefore, when the dead are buried. 
Let a fire, as night approaches, 200 

Four times on the grave be kindled. 
That the soul upon its journey 
May not lack the cheerful fire-light, 
May not grope about in darkness. 

" Farewell, noble Hiawatha ! 205 

We have put you to the trial. 
To the proof have put your patience. 
By the insult of our presence. 
By the outrage of our actions. 
We have found you great and noble. ^^^ 

Fail not in the greater trial. 
Faint not in the harder struggle." 

When they ceased, a sudden darkness 



172 THE CEAWE CLASSICS 

Tell and filled tlie silent wigwam. 

Hiawatha heard a rustle ' ^^^^ 

As of garments trailing by him, 

Heard the curtain of the doorway 

Lifted by a hand he saw not, 

Felt the cold breath of the night air, 

For a moment saw the starlight ; 

But he saw the ghosts no longer, 

Saw no more the wandering spirits 

Erom the kingdom of Ponemah, 

From the land of the Hereafter. 



220 



10 



THE FAMINE 173 



THE FAMINE. 

XX. 

O THE long and dreary Winter ! 
O the cold and cruel Winter ! 
Ever thicker, thicker, thicker 
Froze the ice on lake and river, 
Ever deeper, deeper, deeper 
Fell the snow o'er all the landscape, 
Fell the covering snow, and drifted 
Through the forest, round the village. 

Hardly from his buried wig-wam 
Could the hunter force a passage ; 
With his mittens and his snow-shoes 
Vainly walked he through the forest, 
Sought for bird or beast and found none. 
Saw no track of deer or rabbit. 
In the snow beheld no footprints. 
In the ghastly, gleaming forest 
Fell, and could not rise from weakness, 
Perished there from cold and hunger. 

O the famine and the fever ! 
O the wasting of the famine ! 
O the blasting of the fever ! 
O the wailing of the children ! 
O the anguish of the women ! 

All the earth was sick and famished ; 
Hungry was the air around them, 
Hungry was the sky above them. 
And the hungry stars in heaven 



15 



20 



23 



30 



174 THE CRANE CtASSiCg 

Like the eyes of wolves glared at them ! 

Into Hiawatha's wigwam 
Came two other guests, as silent 
As the ghosts were, and as gloomy, 
Waited not to be invited, 
Did not parley at the doorway, 
Sat there without word of welcome 
In the seat of Laughing Water ; ^^ 

Looked with haggard eyes and hollow 
At the face of Laughing Water. 

And the foremost said : " Behold me ! 
I am Famine, Bukadawin ! " 

And the other said : "Behold me! ^^ 

I am Fever, Ahkosewin ! '' 

And the lovely Minnehaha 
Shuddered as they looked upon her. 
Shuddered at the words they uttered. 
Lay down on her bed in silence, *^ 

Hid her face, but made no answer ; 
Lay there trembling, freezing, burning 
At the looks they cast upon her, 
At the fearful words they uttered. 

Forth into the empty forest ^^ 

Eushed the maddened Hiawatha ; 
In his heart was deadly sorrow, 
In his face a stony firmness ; 
On his brow the sweat of anguish 
Started, but it froze and fell not. ^^ 

Wrapped in furs and armed for hunting, 
AYith his mighty bow of ash-tree. 
With his quiver full of arrows, 



THE FAMIN-E l75 

Witli liis mittens, MinjekaHwun, 

Into the vast and vacant forest ^o 

On his snow-shoes strode he forward. 

" Gitche Manito, the Mighty ! " 
Cried he with his face uplifted 
In that bitter hour of anguish, 
" Give your children food, O father ! ^^ 

Give us food, or we must perish ! 
Give me food for Minnehaha, 
For my dying Minnehaha ! " 

Through the far-resounding forest, 
Through the forest vast and vacant '^^ 

Rang that cry of desolation. 
But there came no other answer 
Than the echo of his crying, 
Than the echo of the woodlands, 
"Minnehaha! Minnehaha!'' "^^ 

All day long roved Hiawatha 
In that melancholy forest^ 
Through the shadow of whose thickets, 
In the pleasant days of Summer, 
Of that ne'er forgotten Summer, 
He had brought his young wife homeward 
From the land of the Dacotahs ; 
When the birds sang in the thickets, 
And the streamlets laughed and glistened. 
And the air was full of fragrance, 
And the lovely Laughing Water 
Said with voice that did not tremble, 
" I will follow you, my husband ! " 

In the wigwam of E'okomis, 



80 



95 



176 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

With those gloomy guests, that watched her, 
With the Famine and the Fever, 
She was lying, the Beloved, 
She the dying Minnehaha. 

" Hark ! '' she said ; ^' I hear a rushing, 
Hear a roaring and a rushing. 
Hear the Falls of Minnehaha 
Calling to me from a distance ! " 
" JSTo, my child ! " said old ISTokomis, 
^^ 'T is the night-wind in the pine-trees ! " 

" Look ! " she said ; " I see my father ^°° 

Standing lonely at his doorway. 
Beckoning to me from his wigwam 
In the land of the Dacotahs ! " 
" !N"o, my child ! '' said old E'okomis, 
" 'T is the smoke, that waves and beckons ! '^ ^°^ 

"Ah ! " she said, " the eyes of Pauguk 
Glare upon me in the darkness, 
I can feel his icy fingers 
Clasping mine amid the darkness ! 
Hiawatha! Hiawatha!'' . ^^ 

And the desolate Hiawatha, 
Far away amid the forest, 
Miles away among the mountains, 
Heard that sudden cry of anguish, 
Heard the voice of Minnehaha ^^ 

Calling to him in the darkness, 
" Hiawatha ! Hiawatha ! " 

Over snow-fields waste and pathless, 
Under snow-encumbered branches. 
Homeward hurried Hiawatha, ^^^ 



- ^ THE FAMINE 177 

Empty-handed, heavy-hearted, 

Heard iNTokomis moaning, wailing : 

" Wahonowin ! Wahonowin ! 

Would that I had perished for yon, 

Would that I were dead as you are ! ^^^ 

Wahonowin ! Wahonowin ! " 

And he rushed into the wigwam, 
Saw the old Xokomis slowly 
Rocking to and fro and moaning. 
Saw his lovely Minnehaha ^^^ 

Lying dead and cold before him. 
And his bursting heart within him 
Uttered such a cry of anguish. 
That the forest moaned and shuddered, 
That the very stars in heaven ^^^ 

Shook and trembled with his anguish. 

Then he sat down, still and speechless, 
On the bed of Minnehaha, 
At the feet of Laughing Water, 
At those willing feet, that never ^*^ 

More would lightly run to meet him, 
l^ever more would lightly follow. 

With both hands his face he covered. 
Seven long days and nights he sat there. 
As if in a swoon he sat there, ^^^ 

Speechless, motionless, unconscious 
Of the daylight or the darkness. 

Then they buried Minnehaha ; 
In the snow a grave they made her, 
In the forest deep and darksome,' ^^^ 

Underneath the moaning hemlocks ; 



—12 



178 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Clotlied her in her richest garments, 

Wrapped her in her robes of ermine, 

Covered her with snow, like ermine ; 

Thns thej buried Minnehaha. ^^^ 

And at night a fire was lighted. 
On her grave four times was kindled. 
For her soul upon its journey 
To the Islands of the Blessed. 
From his doorway Hiawatha ^ ^^ 

Saw it burning in the forest, 
Lighting up the gloomy hemlocks ; 
From his sleepless bed uprising. 
From the bed of Minnehaha, 

Stood and watched it at the doorway, ^^^ 

That it might not be extinguished, 
Might not leave her in the darkness. 

" Farewell ! '' said he, " Minnehaha ! 
Farewell, O my Laughing Water ! 
All my heart is buried with you, ^"^ 

All my thoughts go onward with you ! 
Come not back again to labor. 
Come not back again to suffer, 
Wliere the Famine and the Fever 
Wear the heart and waste the body. ^'^ 

Soon my task will be completed. 
Soon your footsteps I shall follow 
To the Islands of the Blessed, 
To the Kingdom of Ponemah, 
To the Land of the Hereafter ! " iso 



10 



FOOT 179 



THE WHITE-MAX'S FOOT. 

XXI. 

Ix his lodge beside a river, 
Close beside a frozen river, 
Sat an old man, sad and lonely. 
White his hair was as a snow-drift ; 
Dnll and low his fire was bnrning. 
And the old man shook and trembled, 
Folded in his Wanbewyon, 
In his tattered white-skin-wrapper, 
Hearing nothing but the tempest 
As it roared along the forest. 
Seeing nothing but the snow-storm, 
As it whirled and hissed and drifted. 

All the coals were white with ashes, 
And the fire was slowly dying. 
As a young man, walking lightly. 
At the open doorway entered. 
Red with blood of youth his cheeks were. 
Soft his eyes, as stars in Spring-time, 
Bound his forehead was with grasses. 
Bound and plumed with scented grasses ; ^^ 

On his lips a smile of beauty, 
Filling all the lodge with sunshine. 
In his hand a bunch of blossoms 
Filling all the lodge with sweetness. 

"Ah, my son ! '' exclaimed the old man, ^^ 

" Happy are my eyes to see you. 
Sit here on the mat beside me. 



15 



180 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

Sit here by the dying embers, 

Let us pass the night together. 

Tell me of your strange adventures, ^^ 

Of the lands where you have travelled ; 

I will tell you of my prowess, 

Of my many deeds of wonder." 

From his pouch he drew h.is peace-pipe, 
Very old and strangely fashioned ; ^^ 

Made of red stone was the pipe-head, 
And the stem a reed with feathers ; 
Filled the pipe with bark of willow, 
Placed a burning coal upon it. 
Gave it to his guest, the stranger, *^ 

And 'began to speak in this wise : 

^^ When I blow my breath about me. 
When I breathe upon the landscape, 
Motionless are all the rivers. 
Hard as stone becomes the water ! " *^ 

And the young man answered, smiling : 
" When I blow my breath about me. 
When I breathe upon the landscape. 
Flowers spring up o'er all the meadows, 
Singing, onward rush the rivers ! " 

" When I shake my hoary tresses," 
Said the old man darkly frowning, 
^^All the land with snow is covered ; 
All the leaves from all the branches 
Fall and fade and die and wither, 
For I breathe, and lo ! they are not. 
From the waters and the marshes 
Rise the wild-goose and the heron, 



50 



55 



181 



Fly away to distant regions, 

For I speak, and lo ! they are not. ^^ 

And where'er my footsteps wander. 

All the wild beasts of the forest 

Hide themselves in holes and caverns. 

And the earth becomes as flintstone ! " 

" When I shake my flowing ringlets," ®^ 

Said the young man, softly laughing, 
^^ Showers of rain fall warm and welcome. 
Plants lift up their heads rejoicing. 
Back unto their lakes and marshes 
Come the wild-goose and the heron, "^^ 

Homeward shoots the arrowy swallow. 
Sing the blue-bird and the robin. 
And where'er my footsteps wander. 
All the meadows wave with blossoms. 
All the woodlands ring with music, '^^ 

All the trees are dark with foliage ! " 

While they spake, the night departed ; 
From the distant realms of Wabun, 
From his shining lodge of silver. 
Like a warrior robed and painted, ^° 

Came the sun, and said, " Behold me ! 
Gheezis, the great sun, behold me ! " 

Then the old man's tongue was speechless. 
And the air grew warm and pleasant. 
And upon the wig-wam sweetly ^^ 

Sang the blue-bird and the robin, 
And the stream began to murmur, 
And a scent of growing grasses 
Through the lodge was gently wafted. 



182 THE CEANE CLASSICS 



90 



95 



And Segwim, the youthful stranger, 
More distinctly in the daylight 
Saw the icy face before him ; 
It was Peboan, the Winter ! 

From his eyes the tears were flowing, 
As from melting lakes the streamlets, 
And his body shrunk and dwindled 
As the shouting sun ascended. 
Till into the air it faded. 
Till into the ground it vanished. 
And the young man saw before him, ^^^ 

On the hearth-stone of the .wigwam. 
Where the fire had smoked and smouldered, 
Saw the earliest flower of Spring-time, 
Saw the Beauty of the Spring-time, 
Saw the Miskodeed in blossom. ^^^ 

Thus it was that in the Northland 
After that unheard-of coldness, 
That intolerable Winter, 
Came the Spring with all its splendor. 
All its birds and all its blossoms, i^^* 

All its flowers and leaves and grasses. 

Sailing on the wind to northward. 
Flying in great flocks, like arrows. 
Like huge arrows shot through heaven. 
Passed the SAvan, the Mahnahbezee, ^^^ 

Speaking almost as a man speaks ; 
And in long lines waving, bending 
Like a bow-string snapped asunder. 
The white goose, the Waw-be-wawa ; 
And in pairs, or singly flying, ^^o 



183 

Mahng the loon, witli clangorous pinions, 
The blue heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
And the grouse, the Mushkodasa. 

In the thickets and the meadows 
Piped the blue-bird, the Owaissa, ^25 

On the summit of the lodges 
Sang the Opechee, the robin. 
In the covert of the pine-trees 
Cooed the pigeon, the Omeme ; 
And the sorrowing Hiawatha, ^^^ 

Speechless in his infinite sorrow, 
Heard their voices calling to him. 
Went forth from his gloomy doorway, 
Stood and gazed into the heaven. 
Gazed upon the earth and waters. ^^^ 

From his wanderings far to eastward, 
From the regions of the morning. 
From the shining land of Wabun, 
Homeward now returned lagoo. 
The great traveller, the great boaster, 
Full of new and strange adventures, 
Marvels many and many wonders. 

And the ]3eople of the village 
Listened to him as he told them 
Of his marvellous adventures. 
Laughing answered him in this wise : 
" Ugh ! it is indeed lagoo ! 
'No one else beholds such wonders ! " 

He had seen, he said, a water 
Bigger than the Big-Sea-Water, 
Broader than the Gitche Gumee, 



140 



150 



184 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

Bitter so that none could drink it ! 

At eacli other looked the warriors, 

Looked the women at each other, 

Smiled, and said, " It cannot be so ! ^^^ 

Kaw ! " they said, " it cannot be so ! " 

O'er it, said he, o'er this Avater 
Came a great canoe with pinions, 
A canoe with wings came flying. 
Bigger than a grove of pine-trees, ^^^ 

Taller than the tallest tree-tops ! 
And the old men and the women 
Looked and tittered at each other; 
" Kaw ! " they said, '^ we don't believe it ! " 

From its mouth, he said, to greet him, ^^^ 

Came Wajnvassimo, the lightning. 
Came the thunder, Annemeekee ! 
And the warriors and the women 
Laughed aloud at poor lagoo ; 
'^Kaw!" they said, ''what tales you tell us!" ^"^^ 

In it, said he, came a people. 
In the great canoe with pinions 
Came, he said, a hundred warriors ; 
Painted white were all their faces. 
And with hair their chins were covered ! ^^^ 

And the warriors and the women 
Laughed and shouted in derision. 
Like "the ravens on the tree-tops. 
Like the crows upon the hemlocks. 
" Kaw ! " they said, " what lies you tell us ! ^^o 

Do not think that we believe them ! " 

Only Hiawatha laughed not, 



185 



But he gravely spake and answered 

To their jeering and their jesting: 

" True is all lagoo tells us ; i^^ 

I have seen it in a vision, 

Seen the great canoe with pinions. 

Seen the people w4th w^hite faces, 

Seen the coming of this bearded 

People of the wooden vessel ^^^ 

From the regions of the morning. 

From the shining land of Wabun. 

'' Gitche Manito the Mighty, 
The Great Spirit, the Creator, 
Sends them hither on his errand, ^^^ 

Sends them to us with his message. 
Wheresoe'er they move, before them 
Swarms the stinging-fly, the Ahmo, 
Swarms the bee, the honey-maker ; 
Wheresoe'er they tread, beneath them 
Springs a flower unknown among us. 
Springs the White-man's Foot in blossom. 

^' Let us welcome, then, the strangers. 
Hail them as our friends and brothers. 
And the heart's right hand of friendship 
Give them when they come to see us. 
Gitche Manito, the Mighty, 
Said this to me in my vision. 

" I beheld, too, in that vision 
All the secrets of the future. 
Of the distant days that shall be. 
I beheld the westward marches 
Of the unknown, crowded nations. 



200 



205 



210 



186 THE CEANE CLASSICS ' ' . 

All the land was full of people, 

Restless, struggling, toiling, striving, ^^^ 

Speaking many tongues, yet feeling 

But one heart-beat in their bosoms. 

In the woodlands rang their axes. 

Smoked their towns in all the valleys, 

Over all the lakes and rivers ^^^ 

Rushed their great canoes of thunder. 

" Then a darker, drearier vision 
Passed before me, vague and cloud-like; 
I beheld our nations scattered. 
All forgetful of my counsels, ' ^^s 

Weakened, warring with each other; 
Saw the remnants of our people 
Sweeping westward, wild and woful. 
Like the cloud-rack of a tempest. 
Like the withered leaves of autumn ! '^ ^so 



187 



HIAWATHA'S DEPAETUKE. 

XXII. 
By the shore of Gitche Gumee, 
By the shining Big-Sea-Water, 
At the doorway of his wigwam. 
In the pleasant Summer morning, 
Hiawatha stood and waited. ^ 

All the air was full of freshness, 
All the earth was bright and joyous, 
And before him, through the sunshine. 
Westward toward the neighboring forest 
Passed in golden swarms the Ahmo, ^^ 

Passed the bees, the honey-makers. 
Burning, singing in the sunshine. 

Bright above him shone the heavens, 
Level spread the lake before him ; 
From its bosom leaped the sturgeon, ^^ 

Sparkling, flashing in the sunshine ; 
On its margin the great forest 
Stood reflected in the water. 
Every tree-top had its shadow. 
Motionless beneath the water. ^^ 

From the brow of Hiawatha 
Gone was every trace of sorrow, 
As the fog from ofl the water. 
As the mist from off the meadow. 
With a smile of joy and triumph. 
With a look of exultation. 
As of one who in a vision 



25 



no 



188 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Sees what is to be^ but is not, 
Stood and waited Hiawatba. 

Toward the sun bis bands were lifted, 
Both the palms spread out against it. 
And between the parted fingers 
Tell the sunshine on bis features. 
Flecked with light his naked shoulders. 
As it falls and flecks an oak-tree ^^ 

Through the rifted leaves and branches. 

O'er the water floating, flying, 
Something in the hazy distance. 
Something in the mists of morning. 
Loomed and lifted from the water, "^^ 

'Now seemed floating, now seemed flying, 
Coming nearer, nearer, nearer. 

Was it Shingebis the diver? 
Was it the pelican, the Shada ? 
Or the heron, the Shuh-sbuh-gah ? 
Or the white goose, Waw-be-wawa, 
With the water dripping, flashing 
From its glossy neck and feathers ? 
It was neither goose nor diver, 
Neither pelican nor heron. 
O'er the water floating, flying. 
Through the shining mist of morning. 
But a birch-canoe with paddles, 
Kising, sinking on the water. 
Dripping, flashing in the sunshine. 
And within it came a people 
From the distant land of Wabun, 
From the farthest realms of morning 



45 



50 



189 



Came the Black-Robe chief, the Prophet, 

He the Priest of Prayer, the Pale-face, ^^ 

With his guides and his companions. 

And the noble Hiawatha, 
With his hands aloft extended, 
Held aloft in sign of welcome. 
Waited, full of exultation, ^^ 

Till the birch-canoe with paddles 
Grated on the shining pebbles, 
Stranded on the sandy margin. 
Till the Black-Robe chief, the Pale-face, 
With the cross upon his bosom, '^^ 

Landed on the sandy margin. 

Then the joyous Hiawatha 
Cried aloud and spake in this wise : 
" Beautiful is the sun, O strangers, 
When you come so far to see us ! '^^ 

All our town in peace awaits you, 
All our doors stand open for you ; 
You shall enter all our wigwams, 
For the heart's right hand we give you. 

" E'ever bloomed the earth so gayly, 
^ever shone the sun so brightly, 
As to-day they shine and blossom 
When you come so far to see us ! 
'Never was our lake so tranquil, 
ISTor so free from rocks and sand-bars; 
For your birch-canoe in passing 
Has removed both rock and sand-bar ! 

" ^Never before had our tobacco 
Such a sweet and pleasant flavor, 



80 



85 



190 THE CEATTE CLASSICS 

l^ever the broad leaves of our corn-fields ^^ 

Were so beautiful to look on, 
As they seem to us tbis morning, 
When you come so far to see us ! " 

And the Black-Kobe chief made answer, 
Stammered in his speech a little, ^^ 

Speaking words yet unfamiliar: 
" Peace be with you, Hiawatha, 
Peace be with you and your people. 
Peace of prayer, and peace of pardon. 
Peace of Christ, and joy of Mary ! " '^^ 

Then the generous Hiawatha 
Led the strangers to his wigwam. 
Seated them on skins of bison. 
Seated them on skins of ermine, 
And the careful, old [NTokomis 
Brought them food in bowls of bass-wood, 
Water brought in birchen dippers. 
And the calumet, the peace-pipe. 
Pilled and lighted for their smoking. 

All the old men of the village, 
All the warriors of the nation. 
All the Jossakeeds, the prophets. 
The magicians, the Wabenos, 
And the medicine-men, the Medas, 
Came to bid the strangers welcome ; ^^^ 

" It is well," they said, " O brothers. 
That you come so far to see us ! " 

In a circle round the doorw^ay. 
With their pipes they sat in silence, 
Waiting to behold the strangers, 



105 



110 



120 



191 



Waiting to receive their message ; 

Till tlie Black-Eobe chief, the Pale-face, 

From the wigwam came to greet them, 

Stammering in his speech a little, 

Speaking words yet unfamiliar; ^25 

" It is well," they said, " O brother. 

That you come so far to see us ! " 

Then the Black-Robe chief, the prophet. 
Told his message to the people. 
Told the purport of his mission, ^^^ 

Told them of the Virgin Mary, 
And her blessed Son, the Saviour, 
How in distant lands and ages 
He had lived on earth as we do; 
How he fasted, prayed, and labored; ^^^ 

How the Jews, the tribe accursed. 
Mocked him, scourged him, crucified him ; 
How he rose from where they laid him. 
Walked again with his disciples, 
And ascended into heaven. ^^^ 

And the chiefs made answer, saying : 
" We have listened to your message. 
We have heard your words of wisdom. 
We will think on what you tell us. 
It is well for us, O brothers. 
That you come so far to see us ! " 

Then they rose up and departed 
Each one homeward to his wigwam. 
To the young men and the women 
Told the story of the strangers 
Whom the Master of Life had sent them 
From the shining land of Wabun. 



145 



150 



155 



160 



65 



192 __ THE CRANE CLASSICS 

Heavy with the heat and silence 
Grew the afternoon of Snmmer ; 
With a drowsy sound the forest 
Whispered round the sultry wigwam, 
With a sound of sleep the water 
Rippled on the beach below it ; 
From the corn-fields shrill and ceaseless 
Sang the grasshopper, Pah-Puk-keena ; 
And the guests of Hiawatha, 
Weary w^ith the heat of Summer, 
Slumbered in the sultry wigwam. 

Slowly o'er the simmering landscape 
Fell the evening's dusk and coolness. 
And the long and level sunbeams 
Shot their spears into the forest. 
Breaking through its shields of shadow, 
Rushed into each secret ambush. 
Searched each thicket, dingle, hollow ; 
Still the guests of Hiaw^atha 
Slumbered in the silent wigwam. 

From his place rose Hiawatha, 
Bade farewell to old ISTokomis, 
Spake in whispers, spake in this wise, ^'^^ 

Did not wake the guests, that slumbered : 

" I am going, O Nokomis, 
On a long and distant journey. 
To the portals of the Sunset, 
To the regions of the home-wind. 
Of the Northwest wind, Keewaydin. 
But these guests I leave behind me, 
In your watch and ward -I leave them ; 
See that never harm comes near them. 



170 



180 



—13 



193 



See that never fear molests them, ^^^ 

E'ever danger nor suspicion, 
ISTever want of food or shelter, 
In the lodge of Hiawatha ! '' 

Forth into the village went he. 
Bade farewell to all the warriors, ^^^ 

Bade farewell to all the yonng men. 
Spake persuading, spake in this wise : 

" I am going, O my people. 
On a long and distant journey; 
Many moons and many winters ^^' 

Will have come, and will have vanished. 
Ere I come again to see you. 
But my guests I leave hehind me ; 
Listen to their words of wisdom, 
Listen to the truth they tell you, ^^^ 

For the Master of Life has sent them 
From the land of light and morning ! " 

On the shore stood Hiawatha, 
Turned and waved his hand at parting; 
On the clear and luminous water ^^^ 

Launched his hirch-canoe for sailing. 
From the pebbles of the margin 
Shoved it forth into the water ; 
Whispered to it, " Westward ! westward ! " 
And with speed it darted forward. 

And the evening sun descending 
Set the clouds on fire with redness. 
Burned the broad sky, like a prairie. 
Left upon the level water 
One long track and trail of splendor, 



210 



215 



220 



225 



194 THE CHANE CLASSICS 

Down whose stream, as doAvn a river, 
Westward, westward Hiawatha 
Sailed into the fiery sunset. 
Sailed into the purple vapors. 
Sailed into the dusk of evening. 

And the people from the margin 
Watched him floating, rising, sinking, 
Till the birch-canoe seemed lifted 
High into that sea of splendor. 
Till it sank into the vapors 
Like the new moon slowly, slowly 
Sinking in the purple distance. 

And they said, " Farewell for ever ! " 
Said, " Farewell, O Hiawatha ! " 
And the forests, dark and lonely, ^^^ 

Moved through all their depths of darkness, 
Sighed, " Farewell, O Hiawatha ! " 
And the waves upon the margin 
Rising, rippling on the pebbles. 
Sobbed, " Farewell, O Hiawatha ! " 235 

And the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
From her haunts among the fen-lands. 
Screamed, " Farewell, O Hiawatha ! " 

Thus departed Hiawatha, 
Hiawatha the Beloved, 240 

In the glory of the sunset, 
In the purple mists of evening, 
To the regions of the home-wind. 
Of the l^orthwest wind Keewaydin, 
To the Islands of the Blessed, 245 

To the kingdom of Ponemah, 
To the land of the Hereafter ! 



NOTES, 



Introduction. — 13. The land of the Ojibways was the southern 
shore of Lake Superior, between the Pictured Rocks and Grand 
Sable. 

Line 14. The land of the Dacotahs — The land lying north of the 
Arkansas river between the Mississippi river and the Rocky Moun- 
tains. 

41. Vale of Tawasentha — Now known as Norman's Kill, Al- 
bany county, New York. 

51-56. Note distinctive mark of each season. 

75-76. A fine simile. 

109. This line has a break in the metre. To make it perfect, 
written should be changed to writ. 

I. The Peace Pipe. — 1, 2. The following account of the Moun- 
tains of the Prairie and the Red Pipe-stone Quarry is found in Letters 
and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North 
American Indians, by Mr. Catlin : 

"Here (according to their traditions) happened the mysterious 
birth of the red pipe, which has blown its fumes of peace and war 
to the remotest corners of the continent; which has visited every 
warrior, and passed through its reddened stem the irrevocable oath 
of war and desolation. And here, also, the peace-breathing calumet 
was born, and fringed with the eagle's quills, which has shed its 
thrilling fumes over the land, and soothed the fury of the relentless 
savage. 

" The Great Spirit at an ancient period here called the Indian 
nations together, and, standing on the precipice of the red pipe-stone 
rock, broke from its wall a piece, and made a huge pipe by turning 
it in his hand, which he smoked over them, and to the North, the 
South, the East, and the West, and told them that this stone was 
red, — that it was their flesh, — that they must use it for their pipes 
of peace, — that it belonged to them all, and that the war-club and 
scalping-knife must not be raised on its ground. At the last whiff 
of his pipe his head went into a great cloud, and the whole surface of 
the rock for several miles was melted and glazed; two great ovens 
were opened beneath, and two women (guardian spirits of the place) 
entered them in a blaze of fire; and they are heard there yet (Tso- 

(195) 



196 



THE CRAN-E CLASSICS 



mec-cos-tee and Tso-me-cos-te-won-dee), answering to the invocations 
of the high-priests or medicine-men, who consult them when they are 
visitors to this sacred place." 

60-65. Delawares — Eastern part of the United States. 
Moivhaivhs — Northern New York. 
Choctaws — Mississippi State. 

Gomanches — South of Arkansas and west of Mississippi. 
Shoshonies — Include branches and parts of Colorado, Nevada, 
Utah, and Arizona. 

Pawnees and Omawhaws — Kansas and Nebraska. 

Mandans — Tribe of Dacotahs. 

Hurons — Southern Canada, near Lake Erie. 

II. The Four Winds. — The story of Mishe-Mokwa is founded 
on an anecdote told by Heckewelder in his work, Indian Nations. 

4. Belt of Wampum •-— Beads made of shells used by the Indians 
as money. 

79-82. Compare this story of the four winds with Greek mythol- 
ogy of the winds. 

III. Hiawatha's Childhood. — 80. The Naked Bear. Among 
the Indians the tradition runs that once a huge fierce bear, naked 
except a spot of white hair on its back, lived and roamed in the 
forests. The Indians especially feared this beast. 

IV. Hiawatha and Mudjekeewis. — 73. Crows and Foxes. 
The Crows were in what is now western North Dakota; the Foxes 
in eastern Wisconsin. 

262. The falls of Minnehaha, or Little Falls, are between Fort 
Snelling and the Falls of St. Anthony. The scenery here is beautiful. 
271-280. A pretty piece of description. 

V. Hiawatha's Fasting. — 121-124. One of the finest similes 
in the poem. The legend of the corn is one of the most beautiful 
ones in the story. The wrestling is typical of the struggle for self- 
control. Fasting was one of the tests applied to young braves before 
they could be accounted good warriors. 

IX. Hiawatha and the Pearl Feather. — 35-40. Compare this 
legend with the old Saxon legend of Beowulf. 



I^OTES 197 

102-126. A weird picture of stagnation and danger and death. 
239-248. This legend of Mama is only one of many that account 
for the color of this bird's head. 

X. Hiawatha's Wooing. — 13. A common custom of Indians, 
who look with suspicion upon all strangers. 

19. Charming, but not to be depended on as firelight is. 
67. Cataract's laughter, according to its name. 

XI. Hiawatha's Wedding Feast. — 31. Dried buffalo-meat 
pounded to a powder. 

34. See v. 270. 

36-40. It was not considered proper for those who gave the feast 
to eat with the guests. 

118. Foster and Whitney's Geological Report of the Lake Superior 
Land District has this description of the sand-hills of the Nagow 
Wudjoo — the Grand Sable, or great sand-dunes: 

" The Grand Sable possesses a scenic interest little inferior to 
that of the Pictured Rocks. The explorer passes abruptly from a 
coast of consolidated sand to one of loose materials; and although 
in the one case the cliffs are less precipitous, yet in the other they 
attajn a higher altitude. He sees before him a long reach of coast, 
resembling a vast sand-bank, more than three hundred and fifty feet 
in height, without a trace of vegetation. Ascending to the top, 
rounded hillocks of blown sand are observed, with occasional clumps 
of trees, standing out like oases in the desert." 

141. " Onaway! " Aicake Beloved. For the original of this song, 
see Littell's Living Age, Vol. XXV, p. 45. 

XII. The Son of the Evening Star. — 3. Or the Red Sican 
floating, flying. Schoolcraft's Algic Researches says: "Three 
brothers were hunting on a wager to see who would bring home the 
first game. They were to shoot no other animal, so the legend says, 
but such as each was in the habit of killing. They set out different 
ways; Odjibwa, the youngest, had not gone far before he saw a bear, 
an animal he was not to kill, by the agreement. He followed him 
close, and drove an arrow through him, which brought him to the 
ground. Although contrary to the bet. he immediately commenced 
skinning him, when suddenly something red tinged all the air 
around him. He rubbed his eyes, thinking he v.as perhaps deceived; 
but without effect, for the red hue continued. At length he heard 
a strange noise at a distance. It first appeared like a human voice, 
but after following the sound for some distance, he reached the 



198 THE CEANE CLASSICS 

shores of a lake, and soon saw the object he was looking for. At 
a distance out in the lake sat a most beautiful Red Swan, whose 
plumage glittered in the sun, and who would now and then make the 
same noise he had heard. He was within long bow-shot, and, pull- 
ing the arrow from the bowstring up to his ear, took deliberate aim 
and shot. The arrow took no efifect; and he shot and shot again 
till his quiver was empty. Still the swan remained, moving round 
and round, stretching its long neck and dipping its bill into the 
water, as if heedless of the arrows shot at it. Odjibwa ran home, 
and got all his own and his brothers' arrows, and shot them all away. 
He then stood and gazed at the beautiful bird. While standing, he 
remembered his brothers' saying that in their deceased father's medi- 
cine-sack were three magic arrows. Off he started, his anxiety to 
kill the swan overcoming all scruples. At any other time, he would 
have deemed it sacrilege to open his father's medicine-sack; but now 
he hastily seized the three arrows and ran back, leaving the other con- 
tents of the sack scattered over the lodge. The swan was still there. 
He shot the first arrow with great precision, and came very near 
to it. The second came still closer; as he took the last arrow, he 
felt his arm firmer, and, drawing it up with vigor, saw it pass 
through the neck of the swan a little above the breast. Still it did 
not prevent the bird from flying off, which it did, however, at first 
slowly, flapping its wings and rising gradually into the air, and 
then flying off toward the sinking of the sun." 

XIII. Blessing the Corn-Fields. — 5. Sing the Mysteries of 
Mondamin. The Indians hold the maize, or Indian corn, in great 
veneration. Says Schoolcraft: 

"They esteem it so important and divine a grain, that their story- 
tellers invented various tales, in which this idea is symbolized under 
the form of a special gift from the Great Spirit. The Odjibwa-Al- 
gonquins, who call it Mon-da-min, that is, the Spirit's grain or berry, 
have a pretty story of this kind, in which the stalk in full tassel is 
represented as descending from the sky, under the guise of a hand- 
some youth, in answer to the prayers of a young man at his fast of 
virility, or coming to manhood. 

" It is well known that corn-planting, and corn-gathering, at least 
among all the still uncolonized tribes, are left entirely to the fe- 
males and children, and a few superannuated old men. It is not 
generally known, perhaps, that this labor is not compulsory, and 
that it is assumed by the females as a just equivalent, in their view, 
for the onerous and continuous labor of the other sex, in providing 
meats, and skins for clothing, by the chase, and in defending their 
villages against their enemies, and keeping intruders off their terri- 
tories. A good Indian housewife deems this a part of her preroga- 
tive, and prides herself to have a store of corn to exercise her hos- 
pitality, or duly honor her husband's hospitality, in the entertain- 
ment of the lodge guests." — Oneota, p. 82. 



NOTES ' 199 

153. For prisoner-string Mr. Tanner gives the following explana- 
tion : 

" These cords are made of the bark of the elm-tree, by boiling and 
then immersing it in cold water. . . . The leader of a war party 
commonly carries several fastened about his waist, and if, in the 
course of the fight, any one of his young men takes a prisoner, it is 
his duty to bring him immediately to the chief to be tied, and the 
latter is responsible for his safe-keeping." — Narrative of Captivity 
and Adventures, p. 412. 

226. " If one of the young female buskers finds a red ear of corn, 
it is typical of a brave admirer, and is regarded as a fitting present 
to some young warrior. But if the ear be crooked, and tapering to 
a point, no matter what color, the whole circle is set in a roar, and 
wa-ge-min is the word shouted aloud. It is the symbol of a thief in 
the corn-field. It is considered as the image of an old man stooping 
as he enters the lot. Had the chisel of Praxiteles been employed to 
produce this image, it could not more vividly bring to the minds of 
the merry group the idea of a pilferer of their favorite mon- 
ddmin. . . . 

" The literal meaning of the term is, a mass, or crooked ear of 
grain; but the ear of corn so called is a conventional type of a little 
old man pilfering ears of corn in a corn-field. It is in this manner 
that a single word or term, in these curious languages, becomes the 
fruitful parent of many ideas. And we can thus perceive why it is 
that the word icagemin is alone competent to excite merriment in the 
husking circle. 

" This term is taken as the basis of the cereal chorus, or corn-song, 
as sung by the Northern Algonquin tribes. It is coupled with the 
phrase Paimosaid, — a permutative form of the Indian substantive, 
made from the verb pim-o-sa, to walk. Its literal meaning is, he 
who walks, or the icalker ; but the ideas conveyed by it are, he 
who walks by night to pilfer corn. It offers, therefore, a kind of 
parallelism in expression to the preceding term." — Oneota, p. 254. 

XIV. Picture-Writing. — 8-10. The Medas, Jossakeeds, and 
Wabenos are said by Schoolcraft {Indian Tribes of the United States, 
V. 71) to form three secret societies. The first are magicians, the 
second are prophets, and the third, most secret of all, are supposed 
to be in league with the powers of evil. 

18. " The Totem was the device which indicated the guardian 
spirit of the fabled ancestor of a family. It was generally some bird 
or beast. There are a comparatively small number of totems through- 
out all the tribes; but all who had the same totem were held re- 
lated." 

XV. Hiawatha's LAirENTATioN. — 91. Sacred Lodge. A wig- 
wam built on purpose for this ceremony. 



200 THE CRANE CLASSICS 

191. The Swinging Log. Compare with the Mohammedan bridge 
of Al-Sirat, over which the souls passed to Paradise. 

XVI. 65. Pau-Puk-Keewis. Schoolcraft says: 

" This game is very fascinating to some portions of the Indians. 
They stake at it their ornaments, weapons, clothing, canoes, horses, 
everything in fact they possess; and have been known, it is said, to 
set up their wives and children, and even to forfeit their own liberty. 
Of such desperate stakes I have seen no examples, nor do I think the 
game itself in common use. It is rather confined to certain persons, 
who hold the relative rank of gamblers in Indian society, — men who 
are not noted as hunters or warriors, or steady providers for their 
families. Among these are persons who bear the term of lenadizze- 
wug, that is, wanderers about the country, braggadocios, or fops. 
It can hardly be classed with the popular games of amusement, by 
which skill and dexterity are acquired. I have generally found the 
chiefs and graver men of the tribes, who encouraged the young men 
to play ball, and are sure to be present at the customary sports, to 
witness, and sanction, and applaud them, speak lightly and disparag- 
ingly of this game of hazard. Yet it cannot be denied that some of 
the chiefs, distinguished in war and the chase, at the West, can be 
referred to as lending their example to its fascinating power." 

XVII. The Hunting of Pau-Puk-Keewis : 

274. Pictured Rocks. " The Pictured Rocks may be described, 
in general terms, as a series of sandstone bluffs extending along the 
shore of Lake Superior for about five miles, and rising, in most 
places, vertically from the water, without any beach at the base, 
to a height varying from fifty to nearly two hundred feet. Were 
they simply a line of cliffs, they might not, so far as relates to height 
or extent, be worthy of a rank among great natural curiosities, al- 
though such an assemblange of rocky strata, washed by the waves of 
the great lake, would not, under any circumstances, be destitute of 
grandeur. To the voyager, coasting along their base in his frail 
canoe, they would, at all times, be an object of dread; the recoil 
of the surf, the rock-bound coast, affording, for miles, no place of 
refuge, — the lowering sky, the rising wind, — all these would ex- 
cite his apprehension, and induce him to ply a vigorous oar until the 
dreaded wall was passed. But in the Pictured Rocks there are two 
features which communicate to the scenery a wonderful and almost 
unique character. These are, first, the curious manner in which the 
cliffs have been excavated, and worn away by the action of the lake, 
which, for centuries, has dashed an ocean-like surf against their base; 
and second, the equally curious manner in which large portions of the 
surface have been colored by bands of brilliant hues. 

" It is from the latter circumstance that the name, by which these 
cliffs are known to the American traveler, is derived; while that 



NOTES 



201 



applied to them by the French voyageurs (* Les Portails ') is derived 
from the former, and by far the most striking peculiarity. 

" The term Pictured Rocks has been in use for a great length of 
time; but when it was first applied, we have been unable to discover. 
It would seem that the first travelers were more impressed with 
the novel and striking distribution of colors on the surface, than 
with the astonishing variety of form into which the cliffs them- 
selves have been worn. . . . 

" Our voyageurs had many legends to relate of the pranks of the 
Menni-hojou in these caverns, and, in answer to our inquiries, seemed 
disposed to fabricate stories, without end, of the achievements of this 
Indian deity." — Foster and Whitney's Report on the Geology of the 
Lake Superior District. 

335. Only in his human figure could he be killed. 

XVIII. The Ghosts. — Theoretically, any stranger or guest is 
welcome who enters the wigwam of an Indian. He has only to make 
known his wants, to be attended. In practice, the treatment often dif- 
fers from this. 

XXII. Hiawatha's Departure. — 59-64. Father Marquette was 
received by the Illinois " with hands aloft extended, held aloft in sign 
of welcome." 



YOOABULAET. 



Adjidau'mo, the red squirrel. 

Ahdeek', the reindeer. 

Ahmeek', the heaver. 

Annemee'kee, the thunder. 

Apuk'wa, a bulrush. 

Baim-wa'wa, the sound of the 
thunder. 

Bemah'gut, the grape-vine. 

Big-Sea-Water, Lake Superior. 

Cheemaun', a birch canoe. 

Chetowaik', the plover. 

Cliibia'bos, a musician; friend 
of Hiawatha; ruler in the 
Land of Spirits. 

Dahin'da, the bull-frog. 

Dush-kwo-ne'-she, or Kwo-ne'- 
she, the dragon-fly. 

Esa, shame upon you. 

Ewa-yea', lullaby. 

Gitche Gu'mee, tlie Big-Sea- 
Water, Lake Superior. 

Gitche Manito, the Great Spirit, 
the Master of Life. 

Gushkewau', the darkness. 

Hiawa'tha, the Prophet, the 
Teacher; son of Mudjekeewis, 
the West-Wind, and Weno- 
nah, daughter of Nokomis. 

la'goo, a great boaster and 
story-teller. 

Inin'ewug, men, or pawns in 
the Game of Bowl. 

Ishkoodah', fire; a comet. 

JeelDi, a ghost, a spirit. 



Joss'akeed, a prophet. 

Kabibonok'ka, the North-Wind. 

Ka'go, do not. 

Kahgahgee', the raven. 

Kaw, no. 

Kaween', no indeed. 

Kayoshk', the sea-gull. 

Kee'go, a fish. 

Keeway'din, the Northwest 
wind, the Home-wind. 

Kena'beek, a serpent. 

Keneu', the great war-eagle. 

Keno'zlia, the pickerel. 

Ko'ko-ko'ho, the owl. 

Kuntasoo', the Game of Plum- 
stones. 

Kwa'sind, the Strong Man. 

Kwo-ne'-she, or Dush-kwo-ne'- 
she, the dragon-fly. 

Mahnahbe'zee, the swan. 

Mahng, the loon. 

Mahn-go-tay'see, loon-hearted, 
brave. 

Mahnomo'nee, wild rice. 

Ma'ma, the woodpecker. 

Maskeno'zha, the pike. 

Me'da, a medicine-man. 

Meenah'ga, the blueberry. 

Megissog'won, the great Pearl- 
Feather, a magician^ and the 
Manito of Wealth. 

Meshinau'wa, a pipe-bearer. 

MinjekahVun, Hiawatha's Mit- 
tens. 



(202) 



VOCABTTLART 



203 



Minneha'ha, Laughing Water; 
a icaterfall on a stream run- 
ning into the Mississippi, be- 
tween Fort Snelling and the 
Falls of St. Anthony. 

Minneha'ha, Laughing Water; 
icife of Eiawatha. 

]Minne-\va'wa, a pleasant sound, 
as of the wind in the trees. 

Mishe-MoTcwa, the Great Bear. 

Mishe-Nah'ma, the Great Stur- 
geon. 

Miskodeed', the Spring-Beauty, 
the Claytonia Virginica. 

Monda'min, Indian corn. 

Moon of Bright Nights, April. 

Moon of Leaves, May. 

Moon of Strawberries, June. 

Moon of the Falling Leaves, 
September. 

Moon of Snowshoes, November. 

Miidjekee'wis, the West-Wind; 
father of Eiawatha. 

Miidway-ausli'ka, sound of 
waves on a shore. 

Mushkoda'sa, the grouse. 

Nah'ma, the sturgeon. 

Nah'ma-wusk, spearmint. 

Na'gow Wudj'oo, the Sand 
Dunes of Lake Superior. 

Nee-ba-naw'-baigs, icafer-spiHfs. 

Neneraoo'sha, sweetheart. 

Nepah'win, sleep. 

Noko'mis, a grandmother; 
mother of Wenonah. 

No'sa, my father. 

NushTca, look! look! 

Odah'min, the strawberry. 

Okahah'wis, the fresh-water 
herring. 



Ome'me, the pigeon, 

Ona'gon, a bowl. 

Onaway', awake. 

Opechee', the robin. 

Osse'o, Son of the Evening 
Star. 

Owais'sa, the blue-bird. 

Oweenee', wife of Osseo. 

OzawaTjeek, a round piece of 
brass or copper in the Game 
of the Bowl. 

Pah-puk-kee'na, the grasshop- 
per. 

Pau-guk, death. 

Pau-Puk-KeeVis, the hand- 
some Yenadizze, the Storm 
Fool. 

Pe'boan, Winter. 

Pem'ican, meat of the deer or 
buffalo, dried and pounded. 

Pezhekee, the bison. 

Pishnekiih', the brant. 

Pone'mah, hereafter. 

Puggawau'gun, a war-club. 

Puk -Wudj'ies, Puk -Wudj - In- 
in'ees, little wild men of the 
woods; pigmies. 

Sah-sah-je'-wun, rapids. 

SahVa, the perch. 

Segwun', Spring. 

Sha'da, the pelican. 

Shahbo'min, the gooseberry. 

Shah-shah, long ago. 

Shaugoda'ya, a coward. 

Shawgashee', the craw-fish. 

Shawonda'see, the South-Wind. 

Shaw-shaw, the swallow. 

Shesh'ebwug, ducks; pieces in 
the Game of the Bowl. 

Shin'gebis, the diver, or grebe. 



204 



THE CKANE CLASSICS 



Showain' nemc'shin, pity me. 
Shuh-shuh'-ga.i, the blue heron. 
Soan-ge-ta'ha, strong-hearted. 
Subbeka'she, the spider. 
Sugge'ma, the mosquito. 
To'tem, family coat-of-arms. 
Ugh, yes. 

Ugudwash', the sun-fish. 
Unktahee', the God of Water. 
Wabas'so, the rahhit; the 

North. 
Wabe'no, a magician, a juggler. 
Wabe'no-wusk, yarrow. 
Wa'bim, the East-Wind. 
Wa'bun An'niing, the Star of 

the East, the Morning Star. 



Wahono'win, a cry of lamenta- 
tion. 

Wah-wah-tay'see, the fire-fly. 

Waubewy'on, a white skin 
wrapper. 

Wa'wa, the wild-goose. 

Waw'beek, a rock. 

Waw-be-wa'wa, the white goose. 

Wawonais'sa, the whippoorwill. 

Way-muk-kwa'na, the caterpil- 
lar. 

Weno'nah, the eldest daughter; 
Hiawatha's mother; daughter 
of Nokomis. 

Yenadiz'ze, an idler and gam- 
hler; an Indian dandy. 



FEB 13 19C5 



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